“There is only room for five projects in the programme and we have chosen the ones we believe are the most exciting, convey a strong authorial message and have great international potential. Three of the projects lucidly and imaginatively establish a connection between the past and the present, while two delve deep into the topics dealing with women’s secrets and are made by women. Some of the directors are developing their first feature film, and all five are attempting to find their cinematic voice. We believe that these five excellent films will draw attention to important narratives from the region and to the stories that need to be shared with the world. We remain true to our original goal: to host creative, ambitious documentary films from the region and to support amazing new endeavours,” said Docu Rough Cut Boutique Directors Rada Šešić and Martichka Bozhilova.     

This year, the programme exclusively intended for documentary film projects in post-production from the region of Southeastern Europe and the Caucasus will include three Croatian projects.   

Bigger than Trauma, by director Vedrana Pribačić is a Metar60 and Slavica Film production. Vedrana Pribačić co-wrote the screenplay together with Mirta Puhlovski, who is also the film’s producer. Last year, the film also participated in the When East Meets West co-production forum, held as part of the 30th edition of the Trieste Film Festival. 

The film traces the process of healing the trauma of several women raped during the war in Croatia, who undergo extra-institutional empowerment treatments as part of the programme titled “I Am More Than My Trauma” in an attempt to restore their dignity and trust lost 20 years ago during the war. Through system-integrational support methods, these women work on creating a new relationship with themselves and on encouraging their self-awareness and the awareness of the world around them. Through these unconventional treatments, the film follows the path of each of the six women from the programme and all that goes on around them.

The project Factory to the Workers, directed and shot by Srđan Kovačević, who also wrote the screenplay, was edited by Damir Čučić and produced by production company Fade In (Sabina Krešić, Luka Venturin). It is a portrait of the workers’ struggle to save ITAS, the only factory in Croatia that was taken over by the workers and salvaged during the post-war privatisation process. In the era of market economy, the author follows their efforts to maintain a self-governance model. The project was also developed at the Ex Oriente Film workshop in 2017. 

Museum of the Revolution, directed by Srđan Keča, portrays a peculiar and wonderful friendship between a little girl and an old lady who used to live in the remnants of an abandoned utopian project. Srđan Keča wrote the screenplay, shot and directed the film, which is produced by Vanja Jambrović (Restart, Croatia) and Srđan Keča (Uzrok, Serbia), and co-produced by Lukás Kokes and Pavla Janoušková Kubečková (Nutprodukce, Czechia). The film has participated at the IDFA Forum, held as part of the 32nd edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.     

All three projects were created with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, while the full list of chosen projects, along with other information, can be found on the following link. 

The first module of Docu Rough Cut Boutique is scheduled for April and will be held online, while the workshops will be conducted by Tom Ernst (Germany/Hungary), Ivo Trajkov (Chechia), Albert Elings (the Netherlands), Ollie Huddleston (United Kingdom) and Hanka Kastelicová (Czechia). 

Cover photographs: visuals for projects Bigger than Trauma, Factory to the Workers and Museum of the Revolution