On this journey, the Croatian globetrotters spoke with more than 100 couples in 30 countries and transformed the inspiring experiences into a documentary film, which is currently being shown in the UK and Ireland.
Zagreb, Croatia – From the moment they sealed their relationship with their engagement on a boat in Antarctica and set the date of their wedding, Croatian adventurers Davor and Andela Rostuhar began to reflect on the reasons why they chose to spend the rest of their lives together. After tying the knot, they embarked on a year-long journey around the world to explore whether love, one of the highest values in our lives, is universal or completely dependent on the circumstances surrounding us.
They traveled to 30 countries on five continents and collected more than 120 interviews with different couples and individuals, all of whom shared their thoughts on love, relationships, marriage, divorce… Everything they experienced and learned about love on their journey was captured in the book and film “Love Around the World”, which is currently being shown exclusively in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Davor shared:
“The differences between us can divide and destroy us. But if we learn to bridge them, they can become our greatest resource and our greatest strength. That bridge is created through love, and there are not many better, and more exciting ways to learn how to build it, than to look into examples and experiences of various people from different cultures that have already done it.”
From the deep within the Amazonian forests and remote villages in the Himalayas to the world’s largest metropolises, this stunning documentary shows us 33 different stories of love and marriage, challenges and struggles, highs, and lows, creating one great love story that reminds us that love can never be simple, but at the same time that few things in the world are as simple as love. It follows all the stages of their relationships – from the moment they met or had their first date, through their decision to get married or move in together and the struggles and challenges that followed, to the present moment and their plans for the future.
All the protagonists were asked the same questions – how they met, how they felt at the beginning of their relationship, how they would describe their feelings now, what they expect from their partner, what their strengths and weaknesses are, how they approach problems and struggles, and finally – what love means to them. The interviews are interwoven with montage sequences of slow-motion shots, stunning aerial imagery and time-lapses that show breath taking landscapes, wedding rituals, local customs, seduction rituals and interactions between the couples, giving viewers additional information about the featured couples. For more about the film, trailer, and screening dates, visit lovearoundtheworldproject.com.
ABOUT THE CREATORS ANĐELA & DAVOR ROSTUHAR
Anđela Rostuhar was born in Zagreb in 1985, where she completed her studies in Entrepreneurship Economics at University of Vern. After ten years of working in the tourism sector, in 2015 she was employed by Club for Expeditionism and Culture, where she now works in film production and project management. She is the executive producer of the documentary Polar Dream (2018) and the author of the film Love Around the World (2021).
Davor Rostuhar was born in Zagreb in 1982, where he has been working as a writer, journalist, and photographer since 2001. He has worked with and published in numerous magazines, such as National Geographic, Meridijani and Geo. Since 2013, he has been focusing on his own multi-year projects within the Club for Expeditionism and Culture. He is the author of numerous exhibitions, eight books and two documentaries – Polar Dream (2018) and Love Around the World (2021)
Media about the movie:
Total Film Magazine: “deeply touching, a delicate mosaic of intimacy, hinged on the mystery of what it means to be connected to another person”
The Guardian: “beautifully shot and seamlessly edited together… a sweet and well-meaning film representing diversity on every possible axis”
The Times: “gorgeous footage and the inevitably fascinating nature of people’s private lives…rounded in the sometimes-painful testimonies of the interviewees. One couple especially, Kumja and Hiroyuki from Japan, are remarkable. He’s an ex-yakuza gangster and his guilt-racked description of their relationship, and of her forgiveness in the face of his sins, is heart-breaking.”
The Independent: “a portrait of humanity through love. Love is universal, it’s something that everybody can understand and connect through… It’s incredible, this documentary is an honest and intimate look at romantic relationships between people around the world.”
