In the Shadow of the Horns

In a Serbian village, a black-metal band’s music mirrors the communities’ dark secrets.

Team

SerbiaFilm Director Production Scriptwriter

synopsis

In a Serbian village, Vuk (18), a metalhead, and Igor (18), his best friend, lead a black metal band with Manijak (21) as their drummer. The Village Fair marks the end of their summer. Vuk spots mysterious new neighbor Mitar (70) amids the festivities. Bullies led by Petric (27) targets them, and Vuk’s crew decides, for the first time, to fight back. Vuk’s crush on Kristina (17) remains unspoken. In autumn, Vuk’s romantic plans falter. The band plans their debut album, but Manijak’s strange behavior ends in his suicide. Igor changes during Manijak’s funeral, leading to a rift between Vuk and Igor. Bokšan (50), a local policeman, urges them to stop attracting attention to the village with their actions and behaviour. Winter blankets everything in snow. Vuk wants to continue the band, but Igor wavers. In Pančevo, they decide to honour Manijak by recording songs. Djurica (44), a local drunk with a cattle breeder, goes missing. Igor looks for Djurica but finds no trace. In spring, a fight with Petric’s gang empowers Vuk and Igor, but Igor gets beaten by the police. Igor sabotages the band, leading to a revelation about his secret commercial music venture. Vuk tries to finish the album alone. Mitar’s arrest coincides with Djurica’s discovery.

Director’statement

When I was in high school, I was most interested in music and my black metal band. Constant prejudices against both the image and the sound we nurtured only intensified our desire for rebellion, and perhaps we intuitively enjoyed it all. All of this strengthened the bonds that connected my small circle of friends. However, the coincidence of several events occurring in a short period of time disrupted everything. The band - disbanded. We grew apart and our attitudes about music were no longer the only thing that was enough to keep us together. As we grew up, our worldviews changed. I wish to capture on screen that forgotten desire to express emotions and attitudes through noise and anger, emotions that are born and extinguished with great speed and intensity. I also aim to stage the helpless witnessing of the twilight of that childish infatuation and innocence, of the end of all those dreams and bonds, of roads forking off, and the facing of the ‘real world’.

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ScriptLab 2023

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