Iva Radivojevic is a documentary director and editor. She was born in Yugoslavia, raised in Cyprus and has lived in New York City since she was 18 years old. Much of her work explores belonging, and draws from poetry and personal experience. Her debut feature, "Evaporating Borders," examines migration, tolerance and identity through the experience of asylum seekers in Cyprus. The film has received awards worldwide and was nominated for an International Documentary Association (IDA) Award and a Cinema Eye Honors Spotlight Award and screened over 80 times at festivals, including SXSW, Human Rights Watch FF, Rotterdam IFF, DokuFest and HotDocs. Iva is the recipient of the 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship and was named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film of 2013 by Filmmaker Magazine. In this episode Iva talks about her series "IvaAsks" where she learned how to make films, her draw to poetry, working as an editor, her new film inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ “Aleph,” and the things she does (writing, exercising, meditating) to keep her life calm and collected.



















Related Links:Filmmaker Magazine profile Iva on TwitterIva on InstagramEvaporating BordersIva Asks SeriesThe Intercept interviewBomb Magazine interviewIva on BBC World NewsIndieWire interviewName: Iva RadivojevicCurrent Town: BrooklynWhat are you listening to now? Nana Vasconcelos, Toto la Momposina, Connan MockasinWhat film/book/show/piece of media changed you? Here are a few things that left a permanent imprint:Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things" and consequently most of her work.Alain Resnais' "Last Year at Marienbad"Ilya Khrzhanovsky's film "4""For an imperfect cinema" an essay by Julio Garcia Espinosa"What's wrong with the liberal documentary" an essay by Jill GodmilowWho is your career role model? There are so many people. I also find myself lucky to know many brilliant, creative and intuitive minds, not only filmmakers, but also musicians, poets, painters, runners, activists etc. and so I steal a little wisdom from each, from all directions and blend it to what works for me. What is a tool you can't live without? Pen and paper (MUJI), Camera, MusicHow do you drink your coffee/tea? Tea! (Caffeine makes me crazy)Clips used and mentioned in show:Looking Glass (edited by Iva)Knedle (Grandma Project)RomantzoIVA ASKS films: Milena, Occupy Wall Street, Anita, Grandpa ElliottMagic FikusMusic by Apache Tomcat

Poetry speaks volumes and it digs and penetrates much deeper than if I was to do something in a purely journalistic way and disseminate information. I don’t want to throw stuff in your face or bang you over the head with information. I really love the written word and I like how that matches up, or doesn’t match up with images and how they can dance together or repel each other.

— Iva Radivojevic