The world premiere of the debut film Our Father by screenwriter and director Goran Stanković was held at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), as part of the prestigious Discovery program.
The audience recieved the film emotionally and with applause, confirming that it is one of the most anticipated regional productions of the year.
The film tells the story of Dejan (Vučić Perović), a drug addict who finds refuge in a monastery commune in a remote part of Serbia. There he is taken in by the charismatic and strict priest Branko (Boris Isaković), whose “healing” methods become more and more extreme. In addition to Perović and Isaković, the strong cast includes Goran Marković, Dado Ćosić, Lazar Tasić, Jasna Žalica, Toni Mihajlovski, Nenad Heraković and others.
Goran Stanković, the film’s director, said after the world premiere: “The greatest impression of the screening was the silence after the end of the film, a sign that the audience strongly connected with the story. I am especially proud that right after, Variety included Our Father among the 20 best international films of the festival, from more than 300 titles shown.”
The actor Vućić Perović said about his role in the film: “I prepared for the role in close consultation with the director, watched numerous films and documentaries on a similar topic, researched reports about the scene and, what was particularly important to me, talked to addiction experts. All of this helped me experience the character from the inside and portray it as truthfully as possible.”
Another actor in the film, Goran Marković, said after the world premiere: “It was very nice to see that everyone who came to the screening stayed until the very end of the Q&A. I think that’s a good sign, no one left, on the contrary, the audience was interested in what we had to say until the end, which was especially encouraging to me.”
TIFF is one of the most influential festivals of contemporary film, and through the Discovery selection it has discovered many authors who have become leading names in world cinema, including Alfonso Cuarón, Christopher Nolan, Maren Ade, Yorgos Lanthimos, Michael Haneke and Barry Jenkins.
The prestigious magazine Variety described the film as “a powerful drama about how faith and discipline can turn into control”, noting its visual style, moral complexity and impressive acting. Variety also included Our Father in the 20 international films of the festival.
Goran Stanković, known to the general public as the co-writer and director of the series Sabre and Morning Changes Everything, completed his master’s studies in directing at the prestigious AFI film school in Los Angeles.
The script was written by Goran Stanković, Dejan Prčić, Ognjen Sviličić and Maja Pelević. The producer of the film is Snežana van Hauvelingen, and the production companies signing the film are This and That Productions (Serbia), with co-production with Italy (Nightswim), Croatia (PomPom Film), Montenegro (KINO), North Macedonia (Dream Factory), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Novi Film) and Serbia (Cineplanet).
The film is 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 Serbian premiere and cinema distribution is expected by the end of the year.
Photo: Wouter van Houwelingen