Croatia

Synopsis

In the winter of 1991, a 12-year-old Serbian girl was murdered in Zagreb. A quarter of a century later, director Oliver Frljić is working on a theatre play about the case.
Rehearsals become a collective psychotherapy, and the 12-year-old actress Nina feels as if the war had never ended.

Director's Statement

SRBENKA examines how the generation born after the Yugoslavian wars copes with the dark shadows of history. Although the bloody skirmishes ended 20-something years ago, for many Croats the noun ‘Serb’ is still the synonym for ‘the enemy’. This is a huge issue knowing that five percent of Croatian citizens are of Serbian ethnicity. Because of this, many thousands of children of Serbian origin hide their nationality, afraid of the reaction of their Croatian peers. SRBENKA tells their story.

Director's Biography

Nebojsa Slijepcevic was born in 1973 in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2005 he graduated with Film Directing from the Academy of Drama and Art, also in Zagreb.
Nebojsa has directed numerous creative documentaries that were widely shown and awarded multiple times at many international festivals. For his TV documentaries, he’s a three times nominee for Prix Europa Award. His first documentary feature, the international co-production GANGSTER OF LOVE, premiered at Hot Docs (Canada) and IFF Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) and was one of the biggest box-office successes in Croatia. Nebojsa is also an educator, mentoring and lecturing at Restart's School of Documentary Film in Zagreb.

Filmography:
2018 - SRBENKA
2016 - SOMETHING ABOUT LIFE, short
2013 - GANGSTER OF LOVE
2012 - REAL MANS FILM, short
2007 - IN 4 YEARS, short
2000 - OF COWS AND PEOPLE, short
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Nebojša Slijepcevic

Written by: Nebojša Slijepčević

Produced by: Vanja Jambrovic

Cinematography: Bojan Mrdenovic, Nebojša Slijepčević

Editing: Tomislav Stojanovic

Sound Design: Tihomir Vrbanec

Nominations and Awards

  • Documentary Selection 2018