THE NOGALO SMITHY

Out of the former 19 smithies, the Nogalo Smithy is the only remaining one today in the Imotski region, in the hinterland of Dalmatia. It is run by brothers Ante and Nediljko, as the seventh consecutive generation of blacksmiths in their family, in the same place, at one of the hamlets of the parish and village of Slivno in the Runovići Municipality. They didn’t learn their craft in school, but solely through practice, directly from their father and grandfather. They make agricultural and cooking tools, as well as other implements – hoes, axes, pickaxes, billhooks, vine shears, cleavers, baking lids, pans, grills, fire shovels, and even old-fashioned locks and latches for those who want to install them in an old konoba, or maybe a new one. However, this is not a story about the past, about reverence for tradition and preserving the memory of times gone by. The Nogalo brothers’ current production can barely meet demand! This fact raises questions, both locally and globally, about the real needs of contemporary man in the context of today’s cheap mass industrial production and artificial alternatives to human labor. Is the need for handcrafted products of high durability and quality still present? Maybe increasingly so, because it’s becoming increasingly rare? Director: LJILJANA MANDIĆ Writers: LJILJANA MANDIĆ, ALEKSEJ PAVLOVSKY Camera: TOMISLAV TRUMBETAŠ Editor: DAMIR ĐURČEVIĆ Music by: SAMUEL SACHER Producer: TIHOMIR ŠTIVIČIĆ Managing Editor: ALEKSEJ PAVLOVSKY Duration: 30 min. Production: HRT – HTV Culture Program Department, 2024