Croatian film Murina included in Cannes Film Festival program Directors’ Fortnight

Murina (Photo credit: Mario Topić)

Croatian film Murina has been included in the Directors’ Fortnight (La Quinzaine des réalisateurs) programme at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from 7 to 17 July, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) said.

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut feature film is a family psychological drama whose plot takes place over four days on a Croatian island and is a kind of sequel to the director’s multi-award-winning short feature film, Into the Blue. 

The film was shot on Hvar, Kornati and Koločep.

“The nomination of Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes is important for Croatian film and for all of us. I worked with a wonderful team, behind and in front of the camera, we worked for the whole audience, but mostly for young girls, I would say for my sixteen-year-old self. Women are my inspiration for Murina. Chauvinism is deeply rooted in our society, so we often incorrectly call it a mentality. It is also one of the main antagonists of our heroine Julija. Julija lives “in paradise” on a Croatian island, in a society obsessed with wealth that is acquired quickly and easily, it is a society that sells its land and ancestry, a society without the desire to work and improve that capitalises on generations before it – so dreams die and inheritance erodes. The daughter’s strength is interpreted as the father’s weakness, and the inherited land is sold off for profit. Julija is the beginning of a new generation, intuitive women who expose these stagnant dynamics. I see this strength in young women in Croatia, it is stronger, it erupts, it blooms, I admire it. It is a force that lies in wisdom and knowledge, in faith in one’s abilities, in the divine in the unknown, a force that does not allow one to be silenced,” said the film’s director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović.

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (Photo credit: Maja Medić)

The screenplay, along with the director, is Frank Graziano, the producers of the film are Danijel Pek (Antitalent) and Rodrigo Teixeira (RT Features), and the co-producers are Zdenka Gold (Spiritus movens), Jožko Rutar (SPOK Films) and Miha Černec (Staragara).

“The selection of Murina in the festival program, which included the greats Krsto Papić and Vatroslav Mimica, is a nice recognition of our film and contemporary Croatian film in general. Congratulations to the entire team, writers and actors. Murina is an extremely demanding film; co-production of four countries, six production companies and a multitude of friends and good colleagues. We would not have been able to do it without the support of HAVC, the understanding of the Ministry of Culture and Media, which ensured that Croatian films could participate in the Filming in Croatia Incentive Program, without our Slovenian colleagues Jožko and Miha who enabled us to finish the film in the best possible conditions. without the ambition to make a film that is a Croatian story, but a serious European venture in terms of production complexity. I wish all of us to have so many ambitions more often and to succeed in achieving even better conditions for Croatian film,” said the film’s producer Danijel Pek.

The film’s author team also includes Helene Louvart (director of photography), Ivan Veljača (set designer), Amela Bakšić (costume designer), Snježana Gorup (mask master), Julij Zornik (sound designer), Vlado Gojun (editor), Poster (visual effects). ) and Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine (composers). The main roles are played by Gracija Filipović, Leon Lučev, Danica Ćurčić and Cliff Curtis.

“We are extremely proud that Murina entered the “Directors’ Fortnight” program at Cannes. The film is a combination of everything great that Croatia has to offer: an exceptional director, excellent actresses and actors, creatively developed current topics, strong production, beautiful scenes, financial support for production from both HAVC programs and international cooperation. Congratulations to all!”, said the director of HAVC Chris Marcich.

Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des réalisateurs) is held in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival, and as part of that program, short, feature and documentary films from all over the world are shown. Throughout history, this program has drawn the attention of a wider audience and critics to some of the most successful directors of today. Thus, for example, the debut works of Werner Herzog, Martin Scorsese and Ken Loach were presented as part of this program.

Details of the “Directors’ Fortnight” program to be held July 7-17, 2021 are available here.