Three Weeks Later, the new film by Miroslav Terzić, was greeted with a standing ovation after its successful world premiere as part of the main competition program of the 60th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, one of the most important European film festivals and the only A category festival in Central and Eastern Europe.
In front of the packed Grand Hall, the festival’s program selector Vojtěch Kočárník presented the film to the audience, emphasizing that it was a work “from which we simply could not take our eyes off, despite the extremely difficult topic of peer violence and its possible consequences”.
After the screening, the actor and producer of the film Branislav Trifunović addressed the audience, saying that the idea for the film arose ten years ago, after meeting the mother of Aleksa Janković, the boy whose tragic fate inspired the film’s story.
“Ten years ago, I met the mother of Aleksa Janković, a boy whose story shook the whole of Serbia. I called Snežana van Houwelingen and told her that we had to make a film about it. Then we turned to Vladimir Arsenijević, and then Miša Terzić, who developed the story and directed the film. Ten years later, we hope and believe that this film can save some young lives,” Trifunović said.
The film follows a group of high school students who, three weeks after the tragic loss of a school friend, go on a previously planned excursion. During the trip, which should represent an escape from everyday life, questions of responsibility, silence, peer violence and collective guilt are raised. Inspired by real events, the film delivers a powerful and emotional story about a society trying to understand the consequences of a tragedy it has failed to prevent.
The main roles are played by young actors Jovan Ginić, Anđela Alavirević, Klara Karaulić and Andrija Marković, along with Tihana Lazović Trifunović and Branislav Trifunović.
The film is produced by This and That Productions from Belgrade, and the production was realized with the support of Film Center Serbia, Cineworld Fund of Luxembourg, National Film Center of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Culture of Italy, the Croatian Audiovisual Center and the Creative Europe MEDIA program.
Even before the world premiere in Karlovy Vary, the film attracted the attention of the international film industry by winning the HBO award at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Industry Days program, one of the most important regional events for film professionals.
Photo KVIFF/Provided photos
Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM6oduvBiqg