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In the near future, a Serbian farmer goes on a journey across Europe with a 6-year-old refugee girl in search of the girl’s mother.

synopsis

Europe, near future. Radovan (42) tries to evade armed forces and illegally enter Europe with Aya (6). They are on their way to find Aya’s mother, Boushra. Without proper papers, almost no money, and not knowning a single foreign word, they are in constant fear of being exposed by the brutal and xenophobic authorities. As we go 6 years back in time, we see Radovan living a lonely and harsh life in a remote mountain village in Serbia. One night, during a storm, he finds a foreign refugee woman in labour. He helps her deliver and takes care of her. As a result, he falls in love with her and dreams of their future together. The baby girl is sick and it seems that she will not survive. One morning, Radovan finds out that the woman left, leaving the girl behind. In the final chapter, Radovan and Aya finally reach Sweden and find Boushra. But she is a woman with a new family now. And as she starts to speak, Radovan finds out the truth behind Boushra’s departure and learns that reaching love and happiness was much more complex than he ever thought. At this point, he has to make an important decision – a decision that can mean a whole world for the girl.

Director’statement

The story of the film is loosely based on a news article about a refugee baby being left out by her parents on their way to a “better future”. And exactly this notion provoked me to set the story in the near future, with the intention to speak more clearly about the current state of humanity. What are we to do when we find out that the future does not hold to its promises? And who are we to blame for our unfulfilled dreams and hopes? On the basic level, the story is an existential journey of one man helping a child reconnect with its mother. Their journey resembles the journey of refugees, but becomes even more emotionally devastating as they find out that they are unwanted, useless, and constantly feeling out of place. My visual approach will be simple and unobtrusive with the constant sense of reality surrounding the characters. The idea is to juxtapose static and wider compositions with the more intense and closer framing. What I want to try is to stay in the space between convictions and certainties. And to find shapes that embody current ambiguities. I want to make a story which is bold, persuasive and relevant to the issues of our time.

TFL PROGRAMME:
ScriptLab 2016
Discover more details here:
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TFL Catalogue 2016

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