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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

Murina

The Cannes Festival Camera d’Or winner and recipient of another thirty film prizes around the world. Masterfully narrated and beautifully shot, this coming of age story set on an idyllic Croatian island, dissects patriarchy, oppression and a taste of freedom with superb precision.

Synopsis

Julia is a teenager who lives on a remote island with her oppressive father and submissive mother. She feels lonely and yearns for a different life. Her isolated existence is shaken up when a family friend arrives. She suddenly feels that freedom is almost within reach, but the tensions rise between her and her father as the guest shamelessly flirts with Julia and her mother. This sets off a subtle battle between the two men resulting in even more humiliation for Julia. Nevertheless, Julia enjoys the attention and praise she gets from the charming guest, but will he be her ticket to freedom and the solution to all of her problems?

Croatia, Brazil, USA, Slovenia | 2021 | 92 min

DIRECTOR: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic

PRODUCTION: Danijel Pek, Rodrigo Teixeira – Antitalent, RT Features; Spiritus Movens, SPOK Films, Staragara

CAST: Gracija Filipovic, Danica Curcic, Leon Lucev, Cliff Curtis

SCREENPLAY: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, Frank Graziano

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Helene Louvart (AFC)

EDITING: Vladimir Gojun

SCREENING: Friday 25.11. / 16:45h / Zaal 2 & Saturday 26.11. / 21:05h / Zaal 4

The screening will be followed by Q&A with actress Gracija Filipovic.

Festivals & Awards (selection)

Cannes Film Festival, 2021 – Caméra D’or for Best First Film | Hamptons IFF, 2021 – Best Narrative Feature | Cinemamed, Bruxelles 2021 – Grand Prix, Prix Cineuropa, Critic’s Jury Special Mention | Les Arcs Film Festival, 2021 – Femme de Cinéma | Bucharest IFF, 2021 – Best Film | CinEast, 2021 – Grand Prix | Pula FF, 2021 – Best Debutant, Best Supporting Actress, Golden Gate of Pula | Sofia IFF, 2022 – Best Balkan Film

Director’s statement

In Murina I wanted to explore the tensions of a family invaded by a foreigner, an outsider who propels a girl’s inner power to confront the limitations of the mentality she’s known her whole life. The story is set in stark nature – where emotions are heightened and exposed by the sea, sun, and rocks as if on a plate, burning – where the senses tempt the physical world to merge inevitably with the spiritual.

Director’s bio

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic is a writer-director born in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and currently based in New York. Her short, Into the Blue, was nominated for a Student Academy Award, and won awards at the Berlin IFF, Sarajevo FF, Oberhausen FF, and the Festival de Premier Plans, Angers, among many others. Antoneta’s first feature film, Murina, developed with the support of the Résidence du Festival Cannes, Cinéfondation, First Films First by the Goethe-Institut, and Jerusalem Film Lab is produced by Martin Scorsese Sikelia, RT features and Antitalent. Antoneta holds an MA from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and an MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University in New York. She is an alumna of the Berlinale Talent Lab, Sarajevo Talent Lab, La Femis Producing Atelier, and the Marcie Bloom Fellowship, and is a member of the Academy.