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Where there was dignity in life there should be dignity in death. So teaches “Antigone.” Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, wherein a young woman holds her own against a tyrant ruler who refuses to bury one of her brothers, endures precisely because its themes remain relevant. Set against the backdrop of the migrant crisis in Serbia, Vuk Rsumovic’s “Dwelling Among the Gods” calls up that archetypal figure to mount a powerful, empathetic portrait of an Afghan woman’s plight in modern-day Serbia, to do right by her brother, her family and herself.

“When we left Afghanistan,” a man tells Nikola (Nikola Ristanovski), a Serbian Farsi translator who’s tasked with helping migrants making their way through Belgrade, “we thought in Europe they would treat us humanely.” The earnestness of the plea, laced with the cynicism of its delivery, serves as an apt introduction to the world Rsumovic is depicting. This is a cruel and unsparing place,...

Other winners include You Have the Night, Monsters., Ajvar and Stitches; the Herceg Novi-based event was jointly opened by all women filmmakers present. The 33rd edition of the Montenegro Film Festival in Herceg Novi (1-7 August) saw Teona Mitevska's Berlinale competition title God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya add the Golden Mimosa for Best Film to its slew of awards. The jury, presided by Slovenian producer Dunja Klemenc and including directors Vinko Brešan (Croatia) and Nikola Ljuca (Serbia), Montenegrin actor Nikola Ristanovski and producer Jelena Mišeljić, gave out the Best Director award to Ivan Salatić for You Have the Night. The Venice Critics’ Week title also received the Fedeora Award. In addition, the film's editor Jelena Maksimović received the Živko Nikolić Award for Special Contribution to Cinematic Expression, and actor Momo Pićurić pocketed the Special Jury Award for his roles in this film and in Stefan Malešević's Mamonga and Andro.

Macedonian period epic to be released in first quarter of 2016

Belgrade-based distribution company Taramount Film has acquired Stole Popov’s To The Hilt for the territories of the former Yugoslavia.

The period epic mixes action and romance against the background of the bloody post-revolutionary period that occurred following the Macedonian uprising of 1903 against the Ottoman Empire.

The film is produced by Triangl Film, Sektor Film Skopje, and fx3x, and stars regional stalwarts Inti Sraj, Saško Kocev, Martin Jordanoski, Toni Mihajlovski, Miki Manojlović, Nikola Kojo, and Nikola Ristanovski.

Taramount is planning release during the first quarter of 2016.

Avant Premieres

The film screened at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) as part of the Avant Premieres section, established last year.

The programme is designed to present upcoming films to distributors and exhibitors, and this year it included three public screenings.

In addition to To The Hilt, audiences and industry had the chance to see Bosnian director...