Saša Šekoranja Leads HTV's Most Expensive Series
The documentary series 'Perfect Places with Saša Šekoranja' brings seven 45-minute episodes, with the crew gaining access to locations usually off-limits to the public and cameras.
The documentary series 'Perfect Places with Saša Šekoranja' brings seven 45-minute episodes, with the crew gaining access to locations usually off-limits to the public and cameras.
Croatian Radiotelevision will present one of its most ambitious and expensive projects commissioned from independent production companies in its new autumn schedule. The documentary series 'Perfect Places with Saša Šekoranja' features the renowned Croatian designer taking viewers on a journey through France, Italy, Scotland, and England, uncovering top-tier architecture, design, art, and gastronomy.
The series consists of seven 45-minute episodes, each with its own thematic focus. The production is by Bite Art, and director and producer Ana Šerić emphasizes that the project was conceived ambitiously from the start. "In short, this series is a story about beauty that can change the world or make it a better place," Šerić told Jutarnji list.
The story of the series began three years ago when editor Elizabeta Biočina called Šekoranja with a proposal for him to host a flower segment on the show 'Kod nas doma'. "To my great delight, Saša agreed, but as in any job, who he works with was extremely important to him," Biočina recalled. She connected him with Ana Šerić, her longtime camerawoman and editor who, like Šekoranja, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts.
The segment 'Saša Šekoranja's Flowers' became the most-watched part of the show, and the collaboration grew into two Christmas documentary specials - 'Christmas with Saša Šekoranja' and 'Venice with Saša Šekoranja'. These formats proved the duo could successfully handle longer projects, after which they applied to HTV's call for external productions.
What sets the series apart from classic travelogues is the personal touch Šekoranja brings. "He views them through an artist's eyes, uncovering details we might miss and showing why these places left a mark on his life and work," Šerić explains.
Filming at exclusive locations like Masseria Potenti in Puglia and Glenfeshie Lodge in the heart of Scotland required creative solutions. The budget didn't allow renting these spaces solely for filming, so Šekoranja invited his friends to join them. "This gave us something you can hardly plan in a classic production: friends who financed their own stay and enabled us to film at locations that would otherwise be out of reach," Šerić said. Just two days of filming at such places would cost nearly as much as the entire budget of one episode.
"Imagine when about forty of your friends decide to come to a village in southern Italy's Puglia to follow the filming, and then we have a dinner with dancing and luminaries; that's what you remember," Šekoranja recounted.
A special achievement for the team was filming at Palazzo Valguarnera Gangi in Palermo, one of the few European palaces preserved in its original Baroque form. It was here that Luchino Visconti shot the cult film 'Il Gattopardo' in 1963, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel. The palace is not open to the public and filming is not usually allowed.
"That's why we are especially proud to have secured filming at Palazzo Gangi and to have conducted an interview with Princess Carine Vanni Calvello Mantegna di Gangi, who rarely gives interviews or appears in public," Šerić highlighted.
Each episode of the series tells a distinct story. 'The Enchanted Forest of Scotland' leads into the Highlands with fairytale landscapes of Caledonian forests and historic castles. 'White Splendor in Puglia' is a tale of the joy of life, centuries-old olive groves, and the folk traditions of Salento. 'Baroque Palermo' reveals the city through art and lavish palaces, while 'The Light of Provence' follows artists who changed the way we see the world - from Vincent van Gogh and Victor Vasarely to Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier.
'Palaces and Gardens of Roman Aristocracy' takes viewers through private collections and gardens, 'Somerset's Rural Idyll' explores English gardens and J. M. W. Turner's paintings, and 'The Ministry of Style' on France's west coast tells the story of French cuisine and lifestyle. At the end of most episodes, Šekoranja responds with his own artistic expression - creating flower arrangements or decorating a table, turning the experience of the space into a new story.
The development of the series took over a year, and the biggest challenge was not finding topics but choosing just seven. Filming began in August last year in Scotland, continued in September in Rome and October in Palermo. After a winter break, the crew filmed in Provence and the French Riviera in May, Puglia in June, and in August they head to England, followed by the west coast of France in early September.
Screenwriter Vanja Marković played a key role in the realization. "Vanja is the man who finds a way to locations that seem inaccessible and gets to interviewees everyone thinks are impossible to secure," Šerić emphasized. Alongside her and Šekoranja, the core crew consisted of six people: director of photography Josip Ružić (replaced by Ante Gugić due to injury), Duje Kundić on second camera, associates Milan Latković and Luka Stjepanović, sound engineers Saša Rajković and Niko Gulam, and editors Klara Šovagović, Nina Velnić, and Monika Rakuljić.
