The short film Imaginary Numbers, by director and screenwriter Jelica Jerinić, was selected for the competition program Generation Kplus of the 76th Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale), which will be held from February 12th to February 22nd, 2026. This is the first Serbian short film to enter the official Berlinale selection after eight years.
The film follows twelve-year-old Mirna (Maša Radusin), a girl from a village near Ćuprija, who travels with her father Milan (Goran Bogdan) to her first national competition in Niš. This subtle slice-of-life story, set in post-transition Serbia in the early 2000s, focuses on the warm and caring relationship between a father and daughter over the course of one day—perhaps the last they will spend together before they part ways permanently.
The film stars Goran Bogdan and young Maša Radusin, for whom this is her first appearance in front of the camera. The film also stars Milica Trifunović, Milica Janevski and Aleksandar Milojević.
Speaking about the film, Jelica Jerinić pointed out that “the story of Imaginary Numbers is based on personal memories of the last days of childhood, moments of closeness with parents before life’s partings, nervous anticipation of competitions and the atmosphere of neglected provincial spaces. In addition to the autobiographical layer, the aspect of gender roles is also important to me — the countries of the Western Balkans have an above-average number of women in technology and natural sciences, and I see academic competitions as one of the ways to bring science closer to girls.”
Jelica Jerinic, photo copyright Ana Ječmenica
Jelica Jerinić graduated in dramaturgy at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, as well as film direction studies at the Academy of Moving People and Images (AMPI) in Helsinki. She directed the short films “Duck Roast”, which was awarded the Special Jury Award at the 71st Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival, as well as the films “Dog Day” and “Girls with Short Haircuts”.
The film’s director of photography is Tomislav Sutlar, while the author’s team includes co-screenwriter Aleksandar Marković, editor Nina Velnić, costume designer Snežana Veljković, stage designers Dragana Baćović and Ana Ivanišević, make-up artist Jovana Vukosavljević and sound designer Ivan Zelić.
The film was produced by This and That Productions from Belgrade (producers Dragana Antić Gaši and Snežana van Houwelingen) and Eclectica from Zagreb (co-producer Tina Tišljar).
Imaginary Numbers was developed within the goEast West Talent Lab, Sarajevo Script Station and European Short Pitch programs, and the project was also presented at the OFF Pro Film Market in Sarajevo, where it won the award for the best visual potential, awarded by the Manaki Brothers Film Festival. The production of the film was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Film Center of Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Center and the MEDIA Creative Europe.
Official page of the film on the Berlinale website: https://www.berlinale.de/en/2026/programme/202612227.html
Jelica Jerinic, ph copyright Ana Ječmenica
Foto: Promo/Goran Bogdan, Maša Radusin copyright This and That Productions