The documentary film To Hold a Mountain, directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, which won the Grand Jury Prize for the best international documentary film at the Sundance Film Festival, will have its European premiere on March 17th at CPH:DOX – the International Documentary Film Festival in Copenhagen.

The film will be screened at the prestigious Danish festival as part of the Highlights selection, which brings works with powerful stories and striking author’s voices.

After its European premiere in Copenhagen, To Hold a Mountain will be shown to French audiences for the first time only five days later, at the renowned Paris Cinéma du Réel festival, which takes place from March 21st to March 28th in Paris. The film is included in the Special Screenings program, which brings together new works by prominent world authors, including this year Juliette Binoche, Lucrecia Martel, Rithy Panh, Ben Rivers and Alain Gomis.

The story of this documentary begins after the first international military exercise was held on Mount Sinjajevina in Montenegro in September 2019. Military maneuvers began in the heart of the mountain pastures, without prior consultation with the herding communities that have used the area for centuries. In the center of the film are Mileva Gara Jovanović (59), mother of six children and leader of the local community in the fight to protect the mountain, and her youngest daughter Nada (13). The two of them are leading two parallel struggles – ecological, for the preservation of nature, and personal, familial, facing off against patriarchy and violence against women.

The Grand Jury Prize at Sundance brought significant international visibility to the film and the authors. Director Biljana Tutorov pointed out that the choice of the festival for the European premiere also has a personal significance:

“We decided on the European premiere at the CPH:DOX festival, where we officially presented the project twice and where it received the Eurimages award for development. The circle has closed and I am happy that together with Gar, Nada and our team we will open a festival tour in Europe right there, which continues in France the same week. My career is intimately connected to the Cinéma du Réel festival, where I learned the creative power of documentary film,” says Tutorov.

The co-author of the film, Petar Glomazić, pointed out that he was pleased with the reception of the film on the international stage:

“I am especially glad that this story from my country of heroes and warriors, of women who are real heroines of our society, is traveling around the world, embodied by Gara, who was recently awarded the Order of the Montenegrin Flag for special services in protecting her country and culture.”

To Hold a Mountain has also attracted the attention of international critics. Respected outlets such as Variety, Screen International and Cineuropa have published rave reviews, describing it as a visually impressive and emotionally powerful auteur documentary that elevates the intimate story of two women and their relationship with the mountain to a universal level – as a meditation on resilience, heritage and ecology. The direction of Tutorov and Glomazić, as well as the photography of Eva Kraljević, which turns the mountain landscapes into a strong dramaturgical element of the film, are particularly noteworthy.

In addition to Mileva Gara Jovanović and Nada Stanišić, the film also features Rajka Radonjić and Ljiljana Saranović. To Hold a Mountain was filmed over seven years in Sinjajevina, Okrugljak and in the surrounding area, and was realized with the support of Film Center Montenegro, Film Center Serbia, as well as several regional, European and US funds.

Photo/Eva Kraljević/WAKE UP FILMS