Nina Labus, a make-up artist from Rome, who spends summers in Boka Bay, tells us the story of her entry into this popular profession, related to the brilliance of the film industry:
“I work as a look maker. In recent years, it is a profession, which has started to advance, because the intention is to unite the knowledge of makeup - not just beauty, or fashion makeup, which is used for beautification, but also totally the other side of stage makeup, where characterization is done, where we have scars, beards, moustaches, and we also do hair, so that is where the hair goes with that character.
For the last six, seven years, one person has been doing all this, with assistants. The size of the project depends on how many people work - the more actors, the more workforce. ”
Nina has been spending summers in Tivat for 25 years: “I spend at least a month in Tivat in the summer. It has made a lot of progress in recent years, I like how everything is tidied up and how it works on landscaping parks and the city in general.
Porto Montenegro is a special part of the city, which I like… In comparison to the years when my family came here, I think in ninety-two, it is a huge difference. New town! Although, I see that my husband and my friends, who come from Italy, prefer the old part of the town."
Nina has worked on more than twenty films so far. As a girl, she chose and completed management studies in Belgrade and Paris:
"It was the nineties in our country ... I went first to Paris, where I graduated in 1995 and never returned to Belgrade. I also had a somewhat adventurous spirit and fate took me to Florence. While I was studying in Paris, I hung out with the son of the famous writer Antonio Tabucchi, who kept calling me to Florence. When I went to Florence, I liked it and stayed, and then love took me to Rome, where I have lived for twenty-two years now. ”
Thanks to one love, our make-up artist arrived to Rome and later found another love in Rome:
"Something like that. I got married to my current husband, who is Roman, ten years ago. If someone asked me when I was 18: Would you like to live in Italy, or in Rome, that was never my goal. I dreamed more of other parts of Europe - Amsterdam, London ... When I came to Rome, I fell in love with the climate, since it is warm, the sea is twenty minutes away and of course, the charm and beauty of Rome, since it has such structures, history and culture. Every day something new is discovered ... When my friends and relatives come, then I am their guide through the city. In three, four days, the main can be toured, but Rome still has so much to show. The centre is huge.”
Nina especially wants to tell her story about how she entered the world of makeup and glamour to young people: “I never thought of that either. I was maybe too young and didn't see myself in management at the age of twenty-one. Then in Rome at twenty-four I graduated from a school of makeup, which immediately gave me a way and a profit. It went on gradually, I did not immediately enter the film world. There were also fashion shows, shoots with photographers, but when, after 4, 5 years, I got into that first film project, where I was in charge of our entire section - reparto, I felt that that part of the world belonged to me. "
Charming and in good shape, full of energy, with cute "French" r in pronunciation, the make-up artist does not hide her age: “Today, at the age of forty-five, I work in the film world, where I have progressed. In addition, I became a maestra, a teacher in my environment. I teach about make-up and hairstyles at a private Academy in Rome. ”
How much did she make friends with famous actresses, stars and film personalities in general:
"The world of actors is different, it's a mondo aparte, as the Italians would say, a world unto itself, unlike ours. I work and collaborate with stars such as Maria Grazia Cucinota, Asia Argento, however I look to maintain that professional relationship. I don't want to be a personal make-up artist. It's a figure in my business, usually it's the lead actor, and then some weird dynamics can be set up. I prefer to be in charge of the whole movie and not to go too much into the intimate world of people. "
In addition to Italian films, Nina has worked in a number of international projects, which have taken her to China, Argentina and other distant countries:
"That's the beauty of my job, which has taken me to different continents. In Buenos Aires, we made a movie about Maradona, so we went to his neighborhood where he grew up ... In China, we were a month and a half in Chengdu, which is the third largest city, at least in western China. We toured Italy all over, Paris, across European countries… Last year I did an international project with Canadian director Ken Scott. There were Indians, French, Belgians ... In these co-productions, usually part of the film happens in Italy, in Rome, and they usually shoot in the center of Rome - the Vatican Dome, Spaniard Square and I was the main and responsible for the Italian part of the filming. "
The last movie she worked on was “Piccirida con piedi nudi nella sabia” - Girl Barefoot on Sand, directed by Paolo Licata, with Lucia Sardo and Marta Castiglia.
Although it is not easy to enter and stay in the world of film makeup and the seventh art in general, where connections are paramount, Nina advises young people to be patient. As a sign of encouragement, she adds that she entered this world without anyone. Volere e potere! If we want something, it is indeed possible. It takes time, and nothing happens with the magic wand…
