Celts
by Milica Tomović
Serbia, 2021, 106'
Tired of replacing almonds with walnuts, butter with margarine, sex with masturbation, a group of friends in Yugoslavia looks for something real
In Belgrade, 1993 Marijana throws a costume party for her daughter’s 8th birthday, with family and fellow parents attending. Grabbing the rare opportunity when their children are kept entertained in the other room, the parents open a few bottles in the kitchen and enjoy their reunion. Marijana suddenly realizes that she longs for more than a bunch of drunken guests and an inattentive husband, so she sets out to discover the thrills the night has to offer. She sneaks out of the house strolling around the empty streets, seeking genuine experiences instead of mere substitutes. While she reaches an orgasm and smokes a cigarette with a stranger, the party slowly disperses, just like Yugoslavia, the country Marijana and her friends were all born in.
Awards
Best Feature Film Award in the International Competition section; FIPRESCI prize - Kiev IFF Molodist 2021
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Director - Sarajevo FF 2021
Jury Prize; Taiwan Film Critics Association Award; Audience Choice Award - Taipei IFF 2021
Standard Readers' Jury Prize - Viennale 2021
Mermaid Award - Thessaloniki IFF 2021
Best Feature Film; Best Screenplay; Best Production Design; Best Ensemble Cast - Image et Nation Montreal GLFF 2021
Best Film - The Sumadija IFF 2021
Honorable Mention - Cleveland IFF 2022
Festivals
World Premiere: Berlin IFF 2021 - Panorama
Kiev IFF Molodist 2021
Melbourne IFF 2021
XPOSED Queer FF Berlin 2021
Jerusalem IFF 2021
Sarajevo FF 2021
Taipei IFF 2021
Brussels IFF 2021
Cinemancia Festival Metropolitano de Cine 2021
Guadalajara IFF 2021
Montreal IFF New Cinema 2021
CinEast IFF 2021
Mill Valley FF 2021
St. John's International Women's FF 2021
Queer FF München 2021
013 Cinecitta International FF 2021
NewFest New York GLFF 2021
Bergen IFF 2021
Vancouver IFF 2021
SEMINCI Valladolid IFF 2021
Viennale 2021
Thessaloniki IFF 2021
Ljubljana IFF 2021
exground filmfest Wiesbaden 2021
Image et Nation Montreal GLFF 2021
Cairo IFF 2021
Goa IFF 2021
Auteur Film Festival 2021
The Sumadija IFF 2021
Human Rights FF (Croatia) 2021
Eastern Neighbours FF 2022
XPOSED Queer FF Berlin 2022
Alpe Adria Cinema, Trieste FF 2022
Pinx Festival 2022
Victoria FF 2022
Female Tracks 2022
Stadtkino Basel 2022
Femcine - Festival Cine de Mujeres 2022
Internationales Frauenfilmfestival Dortmund/Köln 2022
Cleveland IFF 2022
Cyprus Film Days IFF 2022
Eastern Neighbours FF 2022
Seattle IFF 2022
Prague IFF - Febiofest 2022
Flying Broom International Women's FF 2022
Mostra FIRE!! 2022
Tofifest IFF 2022
Burgas FF 2022
Frameout 2022
Frau.Macht.Film. 2022
Associazione Italiana Amici Cinema d'Essai - Torino Siglabile 2023
CINHOMO Valladolid 2023
Gartenbaukino 2024
Cast & Crew
Dubravka Duda Kovjanić, Stefan Trifunović, Katarina Dimić, Anja Đorđević, Olga Odanović, Konstantin Ilin
Production Company: EED productions
Milica Tomović
Milica Tomović (1986. SFR Yugoslavia), graduated from the Academy Of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 2011 with the omnibus film October which she made together with her classmates. The film was shown in Cottbus, Trieste, Sofia Film Meetings, Isola Cinema and others. In 2016, her short film Transition had its International Premiere in Locarno (Pardi di domani), followed immediately by a premiere in Toronto (Short Cuts). Transition won several awards: the Golden Plaque in Serbian in the short fiction film selection of the Belgrade FF, the Heart of Sarajevo Best Short Film Award in the Sarajevo FF, the Best Director Award at the International Short FF of Cyprus and others. She directed five episodes of Morning Changes Everything, a successful Serbian TV series in 2018. In 2021, Milica finished her feature film Celts.