After a long wait, acclaimed Serbian director and screenwriter Maja Miloš is launching the festival journey of her new feature film “Pukotina u ledu” (“No Fairy Dust”) this summer.
The film will have its world premiere on August 18 as part of the Midnight Screenings programme at the Sarajevo Film Festival, followed by a screening on August 24 in the Main Competition Programme of the Montenegro Film Festival in Herceg Novi.
The new film by the director of “Clip” is an intimate drama about growing up, female integrity and the search for one’s own identity in contemporary society, using the famous fairy tale “Cinderella” as one of its central motifs.
Cinderella in the modern world
The film explores female integrity in a materialistic environment marked by aggression and excessive ambition.
Through the story, Miloš examines the values fairy tales instil in us from childhood – kindness, the power of love and self-acceptance – while placing them within the context of a contemporary world obsessed with sex and superficial perceptions of female sexuality.
According to the director, “Cinderella” provided the starting point for exploring these themes.
Miloš explains that the essence of the more than 2,000-year-old story teaches girls that a woman becomes a princess when she embraces her sexuality. She argues that interpretations of Cinderella have become increasingly sexist throughout history, with the prince often portrayed as a man who solves all of Cinderella’s problems.
In the original story, she says, his love instead gives Cinderella the strength to embrace her sexuality and find inner peace herself.
“My new film explores the power of love and how essential it is for discovering and accepting ourselves,” Miloš said.
International recognition with “Clip”
Maja Miloš gained international recognition with her feature debut “Clip”, which won the prestigious Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2012.
The film was subsequently screened at numerous major international festivals, including Toronto, San Sebastián, Munich, Karlovy Vary, Buenos Aires, AFI Fest in Los Angeles and BFI London, winning several international awards.
Fourteen years after the award-winning “Clip”, Miloš returns with the story of a young woman confronting poverty, loss, sexuality and the need to find her own path toward personal identity.
Life on the outskirts of Belgrade
The main character is Marija, a young ice skater played by Jovana Stojiljković. She lives on the outskirts of Belgrade with her father Dragan, portrayed by Ljubomir Bandović.
Devastated by the loss of her mother, played by Barbara Nola, and confronted with poverty and other difficulties, Marija goes through a challenging journey toward accepting her sexuality and discovering her inner strength.
Her life changes dramatically when her father brings a new woman, Suzana, played by Nataša Ninković, into their home, along with her two daughters, Sofija and Elizabeta, portrayed by Milica Tomašević and Nikolina Spasić.
After the family encounters financial difficulties, Marija and her best friend Nevena, played by Anđela Jovanović, enter a world in which women are sexually exploited.
An encounter with young businessman Luka Ćuk, played by Marko Grabež, will change her life forever.
Jovana Stojiljković on the demanding role
Speaking about playing Marija, a contemporary version of Cinderella, Jovana Stojiljković described it as one of the most demanding film roles of her career.
She explained that this was the first time she had played a character appearing in almost every scene, meaning she was on set throughout virtually the entire shoot.
Stojiljković described the screenplay as complex and important and the role of Marija as both demanding and exciting.
She also highlighted the significance of having a female character completely at the centre of the story and praised Miloš for combining motifs from one of the world’s best-known fairy tales with a contemporary setting and current social issues.
Regional co-production
The film was produced by Serbian production company Baš Čelik, in co-production with partners from Italy, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro.
The first festival screenings in Sarajevo and Herceg Novi will mark the beginning of the international festival journey of “No Fairy Dust”, one of the region’s most anticipated films of the year.
Its world premiere is scheduled for August 18 at the Sarajevo Film Festival, while the film will be presented to audiences in the Main Competition Programme of the Montenegro Film Festival in Herceg Novi on August 24.
Source: Glas Srpske / glassrpske.com
Source: Glas Srpske
