The feature film Virus of Pathological Kindness, directed by Predrag Ličina and produced by Đorđe Vranješ, will have its European premiere on November 7th 2026 at the 36th Film Festival in Cottbus, Germany. The film was included in the selection Hits: Outperforming Hollywood, which represents popular works of various genres and films that have attracted significant public attention.
The film takes place in Zagreb in 1983. During a snowy night, Zorka Vasiljević’s apartment is invaded by a naked man who claims to have arrived from the year 2031 in order to prevent a pandemic of the Pathological Kindness Virus that threatens humanity. Zorka is convinced that it is an impostor, but the events of the evening begin to confirm his predictions.
Through the story of time travel, the film combines science fiction, satire and black comedy, parodying the phenomena of modern society and events from the recent past, with a vision of a future in which goodness becomes a danger to humanity.
The screenplay was written by Predrag Ličina based on his story of the same name, which was published in 2022 by the Jesenski i Turk publishing house.
The main roles are played by Hristina Popović as Zorka Vasiljević and Nikola Đuričko as Luka Radivojević. The cast includes Gordan Kičić, Tihana Lazović Trifunović, Goran Bogdan and Rade Šerbedžija.
The producer of the film is Đorđe Vranješ, the co-producer is Vanja Sremac, and the associate producer is Aleš Pavlin. The film was produced by Stiglitz Productions from Serbia and Terminal 3 from Croatia, with co-financing from Film Center Serbia (FCS) and the Croatian Audiovisual Center (HAVC).
The directors of photography are Saša Petković and Dragan Radetić, the editor is Vanja Kovačević, and the sound design is by Igor Suzić and Zoran Maksimović. The music was composed by Jura Ferina and Pavao Miholjević. The scenography was done by Dušan Radoičić, the costume design by Selena Orb, and the mask by Aleksandra Pavelkić Janković. Visual effects supervisor is David Gatarić, while color correction was done by Goran Todorić.
The world premiere of the film was held at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, and the American premiere at the Serbian Film Festival in Washington.
Virus of Pathological Kindness is the second feature film by Predrag Ličina, an author known for his satirical approach and combining science fiction with social issues, which marked his award-winning debut The Last Serb in Croatia, as well as the short film Teleport Zovko.
Photo: Marija Piroški, Jovana Pantelić