Award-winning director and Media Studies Professor Vladan Nikolic has just released his fourth feature film, entitled Allure (2015). Premiering at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Vladan’s film has attracted both international and national attention, nominated for ‘Best North American Independent Feature,’ and described as “seductive… turns New York City into a melting pot of conflict and yearning” by The New York Times.
Allure follows the path of five female immigrants and their personal journeys in New York. Unlike the movies and commercials Nikolic has previously directed, Allure was created and filmed almost entirely improvised. The five lead roles were inspired by five stories from the director’s last documentary (The City), which featured many non-native New Yorkers who moved to the city to pursue their passions. Nikolic’s inspiration for Allure came out of a “theme that emerged [from The City]: a story of women in New York because it had another aspect that is different,” Nikolic says, “many people come to New York to succeed, or they’re running away from something, things like that. With women from different countries it was always a very strong emotional connection and something happened,” whether it be fighting for success or attaining it. Although the film is based around true events, the actors built and became their own characters inspired by real individuals, their improv techniques adding an honest and almost intimate feeling to the film. Shot non-consecutively throughout 2012, the backdrop includes scenes and sentiments dealing with some of the Occupy movements.
Initially screening in NYC at the The Quad Cinema in March, Allure made its way to L.A. and will be screening throughout the U.S. before its DVD release and addition to Netflix’s online streaming collection and other festivals.
Like many of the teachers that make up the New School faculty, Nikolic is a writer, producer, and director actively pursuing his craft in the professional field. Allure features filmmaker and fellow New School teacher Caveh Zahedi, along with being crewed by graduates from the Media Studies program.
This semester Nikolic taught The Aesthetics of Directing (undergrad), Directing Script to Screen and Storytelling Across Media. Originally from Serbia and growing up in Europe, he received his masters from The New School and has been teaching here since the 90s.
For more information you can visit allurethefilm.com!