The professional journey of Julijana Mikulić Jurković brings together areas that at first glance may not seem to belong on the same path: finance, media, marketing, public relations, project management and local development. She built her experience in the banking sector and business communications, including as editor of Pro PR magazine in BiH and Banke i Biznis u BiH, and today works at the City of Čapljina on development and European projects, as well as on improving the quality of public administration.
One of the projects where these different experiences came together is the Neum Underwater Film Festival, an international underwater film festival of which she is co-founder and executive producer. From Neum, the festival has built a platform that connects film, ecology, tourism, creative industries and international cooperation, while also raising the question of how demanding it is to develop a cultural project in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the long term.
For Media Marketing, she speaks about the creation and development of the festival, the attitude of institutions and sponsors toward creative projects, the state of the communications industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the position of public relations, and the changes artificial intelligence is already bringing to communications and film production.
How would you describe your professional journey and what led you to create the Neum Underwater Film Festival?
My professional journey was not a straight line, but it had a clear common thread: communication as a tool through which ideas are transformed into value, recognition and concrete results, for those smart and courageous enough to carry them.
I built my career in marketing, public relations, media, banking and brand positioning. As editor of Pro PR and Banke i Biznis u BiH, while also serving in a managerial role in the banking sector, I had the opportunity to follow the development of the market, the financial sector and business communications during a period when the profession in Bosnia and Herzegovina was only beginning to take stronger shape. That experience taught me how important credibility, truth, quality content, understanding the audience and the ability to present complex topics clearly and interestingly are.
Later, I turned toward European Union projects, local development and international cooperation, which is much clearer than the everyday reality in BiH. For more than six years, I worked in roles that connect institutions, local communities, international partners, experts and civil society organizations. There, I once again confirmed what I had learned earlier: that a good idea is not enough on its own. Knowledge, structure, financial sustainability, partnerships, measurable results and people who believe in the project are necessary, while you are the guarantee – your knowledge, your word and your actions.
The Neum Underwater Film Festival was created precisely at the intersection of all these experiences, and its creator is Ivo Mikulić. Together with Ivo Mikulić, I wanted to create a project that would be authentic, international and strongly connected to Neum, the sea and Herzegovina. The Neum Underwater Film Festival has developed its own identity. Underwater film is an exceptionally powerful medium because it brings together art, technology, nature, science, tourism and environmental protection with the energy of all of us gathered around it – and there are more of us year after year.
The festival is therefore a natural continuation of everything both Ivo Mikulić and I have previously worked on: communication, creativity, project development, international cooperation and creating a platform where people and ideas can meet with mutual respect for our differences.
What kind of project is it and what makes it special compared with other film festivals?
The Neum Underwater Film Festival is an international film festival dedicated to films shot underwater and to topics connecting people, the sea, rivers, lakes, the underwater world and the environment. It is open to professional authors, independent producers, divers, researchers, students and amateurs.
Its uniqueness lies not only in its theme, but also in the way it brings different sectors together. Film, art, ecology, tourism, education, technology, international cooperation and everything that we as people bring with us to the Neum Underwater Film Festival all meet in the same space. Underwater film allows audiences to see a world that is largely inaccessible to them, while at the same time opening questions about responsibility toward the sea, rivers, lakes, nature and the environment, which are the only home we humans have – some will realize that too late.
The festival was created in Neum, the coastal part of our country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which gives it a strong identity and an authentic connection to its location. Our goal is not to organize just a few days of film screenings, but to promote Neum and Bosnia and Herzegovina throughout the year through an international network of authors, festivals, media, partners and audiences.
It is particularly important to us that we are not creating a closed event intended exclusively for the film industry. The festival is open to the public, young people, the local community and tourists. We want people, after a screening, to talk not only about the quality of the film but also about what they saw beneath the surface, about humanity’s relationship with nature and about what each of us can change, and certainly people are delighted with new acquaintances and with people who are different from themselves but acceptable, because we all have similar dreams regardless of the continent where we were born.
Do institutions, companies and sponsors recognize the value of the project? What are the biggest challenges?
The value of the Neum Underwater Film Festival project is recognized by certain institutions, companies and partners, but still not to the extent that corresponds with its international reach, continuity and results. We have partners who stand by us and who understand that the Neum Underwater Film Festival does not bring only logo visibility, but creates long-term value for the destination, the cultural scene, tourism and environmental protection.
The biggest challenge is the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina often lacks a stable system for financing cultural and creative projects. Every year, organizers start almost from the beginning again, not knowing when calls will be announced, when results will be known or whether they can count on funding before the event takes place. This makes planning an international festival more difficult, especially when accommodation, travel, technical equipment, production, promotion and guest arrivals need to be arranged in advance.
A quality idea and content are necessary, but they are not enough. Relationships, trust, partnerships and the ability to connect different stakeholders are important. However, relationships should not be a substitute for quality, but rather a way for a quality project to be recognized and supported.
A successful international project requires a great deal of invisible work: communication with authors from around the world, film selection, jury coordination, finding partners, financing, production, media relations and solving everyday operational problems. The biggest challenge is not creating the idea, but ensuring that it grows every year, maintains its quality and remains financially sustainable.
How do you assess the communications, marketing and project management market in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The market is considerably more developed than it was twenty years ago. There are many talented professionals, quality agencies and creative individuals who follow global trends and can and do work equally on both the domestic and international markets. People who have knowledge, capabilities and their own large corporations know how indispensable and important communication and marketing are from the very beginning and how much knowledge needs to be built into that segment.
The problem is that communication here is still often viewed as a finishing touch to a project rather than as a strategic part of it from the very beginning. Marketing is sometimes reduced to social media posts, public relations to sending press releases, and project management to the administrative completion of forms. In reality, these are disciplines that require research, planning, knowledge of the audience, risk management, measurement of results and a long-term strategy.
A particular challenge is the unrealistic expectation that major results can be achieved with very small budgets. At the same time, the time required for developing content, building media relations, community management and brand positioning is often underestimated.
Despite this, I see great room for progress. Bosnia and Herzegovina has authentic stories, creative and very resilient people, natural resources and cultural diversity. What we lack is greater continuity, professional standards, connections between sectors and a willingness to treat communication as an investment, because communication always gives and bears fruit and is never an expense. Those who understand this are rare and very successful.
How do you assess the position of public relations and the impact of artificial intelligence?
Public relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still sometimes mistakenly equated with personal connections, protocol or media promotion. PR is much broader: reputation management, building trust, crisis communication, understanding the public and creating a long-term relationship between an organization and its stakeholders – something only a few true professionals can do. We can write many more useful books and organize training, but the key to public relations must always be knowledge and dignity, respect.
Artificial intelligence is useful, and just like electricity or nuclear energy, it has a positive impact on my work. I use it for research, structuring information, analyzing documents, preparing drafts, translations and speeding up certain administrative processes. However, AI cannot replace experience, responsibility, intuition, understanding of the local context and an authentic human relationship.
The greatest danger is not in the technology itself, but in its uncritical use. Speed does not automatically mean quality, and a grammatically correct text is not necessarily credible communication.
In film production, I believe AI will significantly change the way scripts, editing, sound, visual effects and reconstructions of underwater scenes are created. This opens up major creative possibilities, but also questions of authorship, credibility and clear labeling of content. In underwater film, it is particularly important to distinguish the documented real world from artificially generated scenes.
Are you planning a special festival category for films created with the help of artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is no longer the future but part of present-day film production, and the Neum Underwater Film Festival does not ignore the changes that are already happening; we are in them together.
A special category could provide a space for exploring new forms of creativity, but with clearly defined rules. Authors would have to state which AI tools they used, in which parts of the production and to what extent. It is important to distinguish between a film in which AI was used as an assisting tool and a project that was generated almost entirely by artificial intelligence.
Such a category should not threaten authentic underwater film or real footage of the sea and the underwater world. On the contrary, it could encourage discussion about the boundaries between documentation, art, simulation and technological innovation.
Our approach is open, but responsible. Technology should be embraced while at the same time protecting transparency, authorship and audience trust.
What would you be doing if you had not decided to work in communications, public relations and projects?
Even then, I would be doing work that connects people, ideas, art and development for the common good. I have always worked and continue to work in creativity, communication and creating something that has a broader social purpose.
Perhaps I would be a journalist, a producer of cultural content, or I would devote myself more to art, film and work on international cultural projects, and I would always continue working alongside people and with people. I am drawn to stories that are not yet visible enough and to people who have knowledge and talent but lack the space to present them, and we are the ones who know the space, because space consists, alongside the sea, lakes and rivers, of people. People who care about other people.
Ultimately, regardless of the job title, I would probably again try to connect things that at first glance do not belong to the same field. It is precisely such connections – communication and the environment, film and tourism, art and development – that have marked my professional journey and, together with Ivo Mikulić, brought me to the Neum Underwater Film Festival.
