Father (Otac)
Ajyal Competition
Srdan Golubović / Feature Narrative / Serbia, France, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina / 2020 / 120 min
In Serbian
Interests: Drama
Middle East Premiere
Synopsis
In a small town in Serbia, loving father of two Nikola is forced to give up his children to social services after poverty and hunger drive his wife to commit a desperate act. Until he can provide adequate conditions for their upbringing, the children will be placed in foster care. Despite Nikola's best efforts and several appeals, the head of the social services centre refuses to reunite the family and his situation seems hopeless. But when Nikola discovers the local administration may be corrupt, he decides to travel across Serbia on foot and take his case directly to the national ministry in Belgrade.
Against all odds and driven by equal measures of both love and despair, this dedicated father refuses to give up on justice and his right to raise his children. Every hero's story needs a villain, and in this case, it is the role of the bureaucrats he encounters along the way, void of empathy and motivated only by their own self-interest. His odyssey is dotted with acts of kindness from strangers that help Nikola on his journey, creating a portrait of a society where everyday people show compassion, even though the system they live under may not.
Credits
- Director
- Srdan Golubović
- Screenwriter
- Srdan Golubović, Ognjen Sviličić
- Producer
- Jelena Mitrović, Boris T. Matić, Lana Matić, Alexander Ris, Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Danis Tanović, Danijel Hočevar, Amra Bakšić Čamo, Adis Djapo
- Editor
- Petar Marković
- Production Designer
- Goran Joksimović
- Co-Producer
- Meinolf Zurhorst, Olivier Pere, Remi Burah
- Cinematographer
- Aleksandar Ilić
- Sales Company
- The Match Factory GmbH
- Production Company
- Film House Bas Celik, A.S.A.P. Films, Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion, Vertigo, Propeler Film, SCCA/ Pro.BA
- Distributor
- Moving Turtle
- Cast
- Goran Bogdan, Boris Isaković, Nada Šargin, Milica Janevski, Muharem Hamzić, Ajla Šantić, Vahid Džanković, Milan Marić, Jovo Maksić, Nikola Rakočević