“Murina” is headed stateside. A press release announced that Kino Lorber snagged North American rights to Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s coming-of-age story set on a Croatian island. The pic took home the Camera d’Or award for best first feature at Cannes Film Festival last year.
Penned by Kusijanovic and Frank Graziano, “Murina” 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 the 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.”
The filmmaker shared that the best and worst advice she’s received is “to be humble.”
“Murina” screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes.
“It’s no wonder ‘Murina’ took home the Camera d’Or at Cannes, as it’s rare to see such confident directing in a first feature,” said Kino Lorber Senior Vice President Wendy Lidell. “Kusijanović infuses this seaside coming-of-age tale with a powerful undercurrent of awakening sexuality, mounting tension, and a wave of feminist fury aimed squarely at the shackling influence of a sexist society.”
Kusijanović added. “It is a privilege to be part of the Kino Lorber family. They cultivate many important filmmakers and keep their work available to audiences and always relevant. Their catalogue is a great place for ‘Murina.’”
No word on a release date yet, but “Murina” was recently announced as the Opening Night selection of the First Look Festival at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image, set to take place March 16-20.
