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Director's Statement
At the heart of our film is something very intimate. A love story. A stubborn and unusual love story. A story of a man who will go against the rules of society and risk everything for love.My hometown Belgrade was one of the hot spots on the so-called Balkan migrant route. Every day, thousands of refugees were reaching Serbia in what was considered the biggest refugee crisis after the Second World War.It was emotionally striking to see these lost and exhausted people wandering around town. Some were poor, some even wealthy, but most of them were middle class, educated, and urban. People like me. Some were numb and quiet, others full of adrenaline, tense and restless. In common to them all, however, was the fear of what would happen next.At the same time, I considered doing a modern interpretation of one of the most important Serbian traditional epics, the medieval poem “Strahinja Banović”. It occurred to me: what if in the new adaptation the Serbian national hero was a young African migrant? What kind of impact would that have on our understanding of national heritage and identity?With truly wonderful and dedicated actors and crew, we were determined to connect two quite different worlds, hoping to get a new and deeper understanding of both. We received invaluable support from migrants in the refugee camps who shared their experiences with us and were cast as extras and for small roles in the film.The main character in our film was inspired by Ibrahim Ishak, a young man from Ghana who lives in a refugee camp of Krnjača. Just like Strahinja in the film, Ibrahim applied for asylum and is still waiting for an interview with the Serbian administration. As he has no documents, Ibrahim is not authorized to work and, thus, is volunteering for the Red Cross. He is also practicing with the local football club, but he won’t be able to play officially until he is granted asylum. However, Ibrahim is optimistic and enthusiastic about staying in Serbia. The determination to find a better and safer life which I have witnessed not only with Ibrahim but with many migrants I met during the shoot reflects in Strahinja’s quest for love. Both are driven by something inherently human and existential that doesn’t let them shy away from danger and uncertainty. For me, this is as close as it can get to a modern-day equivalent of the grand quests of epic heroes.