Regional Competition

Deserters

Damir Markovina
Screening time  
31.03. / Friday, 17:30 - 19:30 Theatre 3  
01.04. / Saturday, 19:00 - 21:00 Theatre 5  
02.04. / Sunday, 20:00 - 22:00 Theatre 2  

Deserters is a hybrid documentary essay about a generation of Bosnian and Herzegovinian high schoolers from the town of Mostar, struck by a devastating war on the verge of their maturity. This tapestry of memories of the early nineties is composed of modern-day postcards and silent shots of places where wars used to be waged and which the protagonists of this film were forced to abandon. The serenity of these places today is in contrast with the emotional excerpts from the letters addressed to the film’s director from refugee camps scattered all over Europe. The refugees describe their flight across the border, their experiences in refugee camps and their lasting hate of the enemies who took away their home and their youth. A film about a lost generation, exile, difficult choices and an answer to the toughest question of any war: to stay or to run?

Damir-markovina

Damir Markovina

Damir Markovina was born in 1973 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He graduated in Film and TV Directing (Documentary Film) from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb in 2022, after having already graduated in Acting from the same school. He appeared in many Croatian films and TV series. He is a film director, producer and writer. His play Paščad won the Croatian national Marin Držić Award for the best play in 2016. His short documentary film Šihta was selected for the 25th Sarajevo Film Festival official student competition in 2019. His medium-length documentary film Wait for Me won, among other things, the AJB DOC festival’s main award, Sarajevo 2021, Pula Film Festival’s best student documentary film, and Oktavijan – the Croatian national FIPRESCI award for the best Croatian documentary film. His second medium-length documentary film Deserters won the best Central and Eastern European medium-length documentary and the best sound design at Jihlava IDFF 2022, where it had its world premiere.

General sponsor

Dezerteri

Croatia
2022, 46'

Directed by:
Damir Markovina

Screenplay by:
Damir Markovina

Edited by:
Dora Slakoper

Music:
Manja Ristić

Producer:
Damir Markovina

Produced by:
ADU Zagreb

Festivals & Awards:

Ji.hlava IDFF: Best Central and East European Film, Best Sound Design (2022), Trieste FF (2023)