The feature-length documentary Planina (To Hold a Mountain), directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, was announced as one of the films on the 2027 European Film Award Shortlist.
The film won a number of significant international awards at film festivals in 2026, including the Grand Jury Prize for the best international documentary film at the Sundance Film Festival, The Heart of Sarajevo for the best feature-length documentary film, as well as two awards at the UnderhillFest festival in Podgorica – “Dandelion” for the best film in the regional selection and the Audience Award.
Other awards include the Grand Prix of the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival in Poland, the Jury Prize for Documentary at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Directors Award at the RiverRun International Film Festival in the United States.
The film follows Gara and her thirteen-year-old daughter Nada, who, on the remote heights of the Montenegrin Sinjajevina mountain, defend their family heritage, natural environment and traditional way of life against plans for the construction of a NATO military training ground. Through the story of their everyday life, herding life and the struggle to preserve the mountain, the film explores the unbreakable connection between people and nature, family relationships, the consequences of earlier traumas and the resistance of women who strive to preserve their home and environment.
To Hold a Mountain was filmed over seven years, from 2018 to 2025, in Sinjajevina, Okrugljak and its surroundings. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2026.
The screenwriters and directors of the film are Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić. The director of photography is Eva Kraljević, the editor is George Cragg, the composer of the original music is Draško Adžić, and the sound designer is Julij Zornik. Mileva Gara Jovanović and Nada Stanišić appear in the film.
The producer of the film is Biljana Tutorov, with the Novi Sad company Wake Up Films. Co-producers are Petar Glomazić from the Montenegrin production company Ardor Films and Rok Biček from the Slovenian company Zvinger Film. The film was created as an international co-production between Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, France and Croatia, with the support of Film Center Serbia, Film Center Montenegro, CNC, Slovenian Film Center, Croatian Audiovisual Center and other international funds and organizations.
The inclusion of the film in the shortlist represents a step in the selection process of films that will compete for nominations for this award, one of the most significant in European cinematography.
The 39th European Film Awards ceremony will be held on January 16, 2027 in Athens.
Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn / Threads
Photo/Promo