"At the age of 51, I'm probably the oldest newcomer," commented this year's winner of the Gong award for creativity. Bratuša is the director of the TV series Življenja Tomaža Kajzerja (The Lives of Tomaž Kajzer), which is aired on TV Slovenija. He added to say: "At my age you go into new projects more maturely, and shooting the series was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life."
On behalf of the creators of the series Peter Bratuša received one of the two Gong awards which were not decided by the readers of Delo's weekly supplement Vikend, but by the editorial team (the other was given to the creators of the Znan obraz ima svoj glas – Your Face Sounds Familiar show)."This award goes to all the people that worked on the series, because without them there would be nothing. I hope that certain people from TV Slovenija would like to see a new season of The Lives of Tomaž Kajzer," was the director's wish.
Work – a recipe for success
The members of the Modrijani ensemble once again emphasized that success only comes after hard work. "An award must never be taken for granted, because you always have to work for it. We really put a lot of effort into creating new songs and sometimes we practice throughout the night. We're really happy and thankful for every single vote," is what the ensemble's bass guitarist, Franjo Oset, told MMC. "I think that achieving continuity is more difficult for band than winning a single award – the same way as it's easier to make one good CD than three. Every new award that comes along is much more valuable than the first," added singer Blaž Švab.
The fifth Gong awards for Žagar and Bobovnik
Tanja Žagar says that staying in touch with the people and being present on the ground are two factors that contribute to her own popularity. "There is only one recipe: work, work and work. And, of course, I mean proper work. All these years I have been constantly at work with my music team. Until now I still haven't had a shorter or longer break in my career. Probably that's also one of the reasons for the awards. We know that nothing lasts forever and that everything comes to an end – so when I take a break in my music career, somebody else will take my place (laughter). But at the moment I'm still present among the people: at all my stage performances, concerts and 'Žagarija' events," stressed the singer, who is preparing a new album for next year. She joked that she'll have to extend her home shelf because of all the awards.
Similar to Žagar, the host of the Odmevi show, Slavko Bobovnik, will also make room for a fifth Gong award on his shelf. "Winning the award is a great honour, for we live in a time which is not really kind to journalists. Each anonymous person can badmouth or insult you on the web. But moments like this, when a few thousand people take the ballot paper, write your name in, add a comment that you do a good job, and even sign under it, are truly nice," stressed Bobovnik.
Apart from the above-mentioned there was one more director among the award winners. Boris Kobal, a much known figure from Saturday evenings on TV Slovenija, received an award in the category for best actor. "It's funny. I'm a really strange actor. I'm not an actor who would play Hamlet. Surely not (laughter). I have a talent for small things, which only I know off, and it's nice that as an actor I can take a break from the other things I do," said Kobal. He also shared his philosophy on the awards: "They're there for you to take them home, put them in a corner, and forget about them as soon as possible."
The presenter duo wins recognition
This year's Gong Awards did not provide us with any big surprises – at least not in the categories which were decided by the people. However last night's shared opinion was that naming Borut Veselko and Desa Muck to host the awards was a very good choice. On the improvised Vikend stage at the Kino Šiška venue, Muck transformed into a show host mentor and lectured Veselko along the way, step by step (i.e with shot glasses of »rakija« (spirit), which she offered to everyone who came on stage), on how to successfully host an event, as big as the Gong Awards. And the two didn't spare anyone. Not even one another.