Our Father, the debut feature film by screenwriter and director Goran Stanković will be included in the official selection of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), within the prestigious Discovery program, which affirms the most exciting new authors of world cinematography.
TIFF is considered one of the most influential festivals of contemporary film, and the Discovery selection is known for launching the careers of directors such as Alfonso Cuarón, Christopher Nolan, Maren Ada, Yorgos Lanthimos, Michael Haneke and Barry Jenkins.
Goran Stanković, known as the co-writer and director of the series Operation Sabre and Morning Changes Everything, completed his master’s studies in film direction at the prestigious AFI film school in Los Angeles.
His first feature film brings a bold author’s vision of the complex relationship between power, faith and personal responsibility.
The plot of the film follows Dejan (Vučić Perović), a drug addict who comes for treatment to a monastery commune in a remote part of Serbia. There he is taken in by Father Branko (Boris Isaković), a charismatic and strict priest whose “healing” methods become more and more extreme.
In addition to Perović and Isaković, the film also stars Goran Marković, Dado Ćosić, Lazar Tasić, Jasna Žalica, Toni Mihajlovski, Nenad Heraković and others, in strong roles which further illuminate the dynamics within the closed community.
Goran Stanković, the director, said the following about the film: “For me, this film is first of all a story about the abuse of power. I was interested in what a system looks like that presents itself as a space of salvation, based on faith, but in reality is based on fear, control and complete obedience. I wanted to understand where the line between help and manipulation is, and what happens when faith ceases to be a personal act of hope and becomes a tool for establishing power. Our Father is a film about systems that simultaneously provide structure while they take away freedom. At the center of the film is a man who seeks help within a community in which violence is not an exception, but a rule.”
The script was written by Goran Stanković, Dejan Prćić, Ognjen Sviličić and Maja Pelević. The producer of the film is Snežana van Houwelingen, and the production companies behind the film are This and That Productions from Serbia, with co-production with Italy (Nightswim), Croatia (PomPom Film), Montenegro (Kino Produkcija), North Macedonia (Dream Factory), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Novi Film) and Serbia (Cineplanet).
The film was 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 of 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 world premiere of the film will take place in Toronto at the beginning of September, while the domestic premiere and cinema distribution in Serbia are expected by the end of the year.
PHOTO: This and That Productions