Stipe Erceg & Valerij Bilchenkos: Give up Everything

Being brave is what makes Stipe Erceg special. He has experimented a lot in life and tried several wrong paths. Now, at the age of 36, he can tell that what remains in his turbulent life must be nothing but the perfect fit for him. He has been an actor for about ten years. Born in Croatia and raised in Germany he aimed to become an actor and started studying at the European Theatre Institute Berlin. Stipe played several leading parts in different movies between 2000 and 2011. Most famous were his parts in the German movies 'Der Baader Meinhof Komplex' ('The Baader Meinhof Complex') and in 'Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei' ('The Edukators'). "Stipe is a bit crazy and that's exactly what makes him special and interesting" explains Valerij Bilchenkos. Valerij is Stipe's former teacher at theatre school. Stipe was one of his first students in his first year of teaching. Back then, the Ukrainian-born director introduced a whole new way of thinking to Stipe. Valerij's approach is straight forward: "Focus on the experience, be willing to give up everything, all your knowledge, everything that you have for one moment of true life, one moment of true pure inspiration. Valerij's gift is that he is highly emphatic which makes him a great teacher. He is very strong in identifying the particular talent of a student and in helping to transform talent into skill." Both, Stipe and Valerij, define avant-garde as being something revolutionary, a movement perhaps that is always opposed to a strong counterpart. Avant-garde brings a change of perspective. It brakes boundaries and leads to new thinking at least that was the case 50 years ago. The present, however, is different. Today the counterpart, 'the enemy' is not as clear anymore. What does this mean for the avant-garde if there is no obvious counterpart to rebel against? Find out more about Stipe Erceg (http://www.imdb.de/name/nm1449783/) Production Superiest (www.superiest.net) / Filming & Photos Clemens Poloczek, Marcus Werner & Björn Baasner / Music BUNNYSTRIPES