Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s feature directorial debut has secured distribution. Modern Films acquired U.K.-Ireland rights to “Murina,” this year’s winner of Cannes’ Camera d’Or award. Screen Daily broke the news.
Penned by Kusijanovic and Frank Graziano, “Murina” is set on a Croatian island and tells the story of Julija (Gracija Filipovic), a teenage girl who finds herself drawn to her controlling father’s business associate.
“It was important for me to portray both the [evolution] and the constraints we experience while growing into ourselves — that is ‘Murina’ for me. It is path of birthing yourself. It is going through the storm, and through deep underwater tunnels,” Kusijanovic told us. Asked what she’d like audiences to think about after watching the film, the writer-director said, “The resilience, power, and hope we all have as our younger selves — something that degenerates over the years. I wish to bring people to that emotional place to reclaim it. I would like them to regain that childlike faith of the unknown, the omnipotent nature, or some might call it the divine.”
“Murina” screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes last month.
Modern Films is planning “a theatrical release for spring 2022, followed by a rollout across Modern’s virtual cinema platform Modern On Demand,” per the source.
“It is so great to be working on this film where female creatives and performances shine in front of and behind the camera, but also that delves deeply into the dynamics of family, wealth, and great social change,” said Modern Films CEO Eve Gabareau.
