The film
JANEZ JANSA
by Janez Jansa
Documentary 68’ – color
Credits
Doc 68′ – color
Director
Janez Janša
Story
Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Screenplay
Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Producer
Marcela Okretič
With Dražen Dragojević
in the role of Dražen Dragojević
Interviewers
Dražen Dragojević
Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Director of Photography
Darko Herič
Matjaž Mrak
Editors
Jurij Moškon
Giusi Santoro
Graphic Designer
Luka Umek
Composers
Riccardo Nanni
Giancarlo Di Maria
Set Designer
Janez Janša
Costume Designer
Nina Jagodic
Production:
Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
Co-Production
RTV Slovenia, Institute Maska
Associated producer
POPCult (IT), Emotionfilm, ARTREBEL9 / Teleking
Financial support
Slovenian Film Center
Technical support
Viba Film, Ljubljana
International Distribution
Taskovski Films
Media sponsors
Neural, Radio Študent, Mladina
More info
film website
http://www.mynameisjanezjansa.com/
“A proper name is a word that answers the purpose of showing what thing it is that we are talking about but not of telling anything about it”. ― John Stuart Mill in A System of Logic (1. ii. 5.)
A name. Everybody has one. Individuals, artists and academics from all over the world share their thoughts about the meaning and purpose of one’s name from both private and public perspectives. The problem of homonymy and other reasons for changing one’s name are explored as the film draws references from history, popular culture and individual experiences, leading us to the case of a name change that caused a stir in the small country of Slovenia and beyond.
In 2007 three artists joined the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and officially changed their names to that of the leader of that party, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša. While they renamed themselves for personal reasons, the boundaries between their lives and their art began to merge in numerous and unforeseen ways.
Signified as an artistic gesture, this particular name change provoked a wide range of interpretations in art circles both in Slovenia and abroad, as well as among journalists and the general public.
My name is Janez Jansa was realised thanks the help of many supporters by the crowdfunding www.verkami.com/my-name-is-janez-jansa
NOTE OF ARTISTIC INTENT
The idea for this documentary sprang from a personal experience. In 2007, I legally changed my name, together with two other Slovenian artists, to Janez Janša. Janez Janša was the Prime Minister of Slovenia at the time and suddenly there were more Janez Janšas acting together within the same physical and media space. The system of reference of names started to crack… This made me reflect on issues such as identity vs identification, multiplicity vs multiplication, the name as an interface between the private and the public, and the personal name as a brand.
I have dealt with these and many other questions in numerous lectures/presentations at various universities and museums around the world. On these occasions, I started discovering dramaturgical possibilities of the story that I was telling and constantly reshaping, amending with regard to the audiences’ responses. The draft for the script of the film My Name Is Janez Jansa was thus the result of a series of direct interactions with the audience. The theatrical piece “The more of us there are, faster we’ll reach our goal” served as a study for the script as well.
