God Will Not Help
DUTCH PREMIERE
A traditional mountain community goes into turmoil when a mysterious foreigner arrives claiming to be the wife of a man who left them many years ago.
A Chilean woman, Teresa, comes into a firmly structured and isolated mountain community of Croatian shepherds, claiming to be the widow of their long-lost émigré brother. Her arrival heavily changes the dynamics between the members of the community and brings unrest but also inspiration for other women. A visually striking historical drama set in the early 20th century.
SCREENINGS
Friday 6 November 20:30
Director Hana Jušić will be present for a Q&A
Programme section(s): Focus: Roots | Cinema Current | Through Women’s Lenses
Original title: Bog neće pomoći | Year: 2025 | Runtime: 137′
Country: Croatia, Italy, Romania, Greece, France, Slovenia | Language: Croatian, Spanish | Subtitles: English
Cast: Manuela Martelli, Ana Marija Veselčić, Filip Đurić, Mauro Ercegović Gracin
Director: Hana Jušić | Production: Ankica Jurić Tilić – Kinorama; Nightswim, MicroFILM, Horsefly Films, Maneki Films, Perfo Productions, ERT | Screenplay: Hana Jušić | Cinematography: Jana Plećaš | Editing: Jan Klemsche
FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION)
Locarno Film Festival, 2025 – World Premiere, Best Performance | Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2026 | Thessaloniki Film Festival, 2025 – Artistic Achievement Award, Best Actress | Sarajevo Film Festival, 2025 – Special Award for the Promotion of Gender Equality | CinEast, 2025 – Special Jury Prize | Sofia International Film Festival, 2026 – Special Mention | Bari International Film Festival, 2026 – Best Artistic Contribution | Pula Film Festival, 2026 – Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Debut Actress
DIRECTOR’S BIO
Hana Jušić (Šibenik, 1983) is a Croatian film director and screenwriter. She graduated in Comparative Literature and English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and earned an MA in Film and TV Directing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She is the author of several short films and the feature film Quit Staring at My Plate from 2016. The film premiered at Venice Days, after which it had a festival run of over a hundred festivals and got more than thirty awards. Hana also wrote screenplays for the feature films Mysterious Boy (2013) and The Mystery of Green Hill (2017), and the series The Last Socialist Artefact (2021) and Shame (2024).
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I was drawn to this story most of all by the way in which the rough reality of the shepherds’ world is reflected in our times as an ever-present echo in the creation of modern society out of the smaller and almost primordial communities. I wanted to talk about the women who are on the margin of that world even more than it is usual for their gender, about the women who, in the end, from the margin assigned to them, stick their tongues out at patriarchy. Also, I wanted to explore what true human solidarity and empathy mean within the frame of rigid value systems, which are based on the feverish desire to belong or possess. In doing that, the very impossibility of communication is also of crucial importance. Maybe because they are deprived of the conventional means of communication, Teresa and Milena, and Teresa and Ilija really “see” one another. Such a “displaced” view allows them to save each other at least for a moment, since it is obvious that God will not help.
