The film Our Father, by director and screenwriter Goran Stanković, has won the Special Jury Award at this year’s Transilvania International Film Festival in Cluj, one of the most important film festivals in Central and Eastern Europe. The festival, founded in 2002, is the first international film festival in Romania, accredited by FIAPF as a competitive festival dedicated to filmmakers’ first and second feature films.

Our Father is Goran Stanković’s debut feature. The director’s previous work includes the TV series Operation Sabre and Morning Changes Everything. The film follows Dejan, a young addict who tries to find salvation and treatment for his addiction in an isolated monastery commune. His relationship with the charismatic but strict priest Branko develops in a way that opens up questions about faith, authority, responsibility and the boundaries between help and control.

The main roles are played by Vučić Perović and Boris Isaković, while the cast also includes Goran Marković, Dado Ćosić, Lazar Tasić, Jasna Žalica and Toni Mihajlovski. The script was written by Goran Stanković, Dejan Prčić, Ognjen Sviličić and Maja Pelević, while the film is produced by Snežana van Houwelingen from This and That Productions. The film is supported by Film Center Serbia and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, as well as MIC – Ministry of Culture of Italy, HAVC – Croatian Audiovisual Center, Film Center Montenegro, Film Agency of North Macedonia, Film Fund Sarajevo, MEDIA Program of Creative Europe and RE-ACT Fund. It was developed through the First Films First and MFI Script2Film Workshop programs

The success in Cluj is a continuation of the film’s notable festival journey. Our Father had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Discovery program, and then Stanković won the award for best director at the Cottbus international film festival and a special jury award at the Tertio Millennio festival in Rome.

The award in Cluj represents a new international recognition for a film that has attracted the attention of festival audiences and critics since its premiere, confirming its position as one of the most notable regional achievements of the year.

Photo/Promo/Stills from the film

Photo of director Goran Stanković/ Wouter van Houwelingen