MURINA

An island off the Croatian coast, a house above the water, a family that lives by harpoon and boat. Julija (Gracija Filipović) is seventeen and dives for moray eels with her father Ante (Leon Lučev); on land, he decides what she wears, says and does, while her mother Nela (Danica Curcic) keeps the peace. Then Javier (Cliff Curtis) comes to visit, a wealthy old friend of her father’s who might buy the family’s land. For Ante, he is the chance to finally change everything; for Julija, the hint that a life beyond the island exists. “Murina” by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Croatia 2021, tells of a weekend in which sun and sea do nothing to cool the tension.

Kusijanović’s feature debut, on which Martin Scorsese served as executive producer, keeps the violence beneath the surface and lets the camera move between above and below the water, until the idyll itself becomes a threat. It premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes in 2021, where “Murina” won the Caméra d’Or for best debut. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2021.

Shown at the 2021 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2021 · Film Archive