Zagreb Film Festival

God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija

  • Teona Strugar Mitevska
  • North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia, France
  • 2019
  • 100'
  • Gospod postoi, imeto i' e Petrunija

This feminist satire from the Balkans follows the events in the Macedonian town od Štip, where every January, the local priest throws a wooden cross into the river and hundreds of men jump in after it. The one who fishes it out is promised good fortune and success. This time, Petrunija jumps into the river too, and manages to get to the cross first. The men are furious because a woman dared to participate in their ritual and total chaos ensues, but Petrunija (a stellar performance by Zorica Nusheva) holds firm. The film premiered at Berlinale, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Prize and the Guild Film Prize, also winning the Golden Arena for best direction in the Minority Co-production program of the Pula Film Festival.

Subtitles: HR, EN

Teona Strugar Mitevska

Made her directorial debut with the short, Veta (Special Jury award at Berlinale 2012). She is the co-founder of the production house Sisters and Brother Mitevski, with which she directed How I Killed a Saint (2004), I Am from Titov Veles (2007, Special Jury Prize at Sarajevo), and The Woman Who Brushed off Her Tears (Berlinale 2012).

God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija

Director
Teona Strugar Mitevska
Screenplay
Elma Tataragić, Teona Strugar Mitevska
Cast
Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Simeon Moni Damevski, Suad Begovski, Stefan Vujisić, Violeta Shapkovska, Xhevdet Jashari
DOP
Virginie Saint Martin
Editing
Marie-Hélène Dozo
Producer
Labina Mitevska, Sébastien Delloye, Danijel Hočevar, Zdenka Gold, Marie Dubas, Elie Meirovitz
Production
Sisters and Brother Mitevski, Entre Chien et Loup, Vertigo, Spiritus Movens Production, Deuxième Ligne Films, EZ Films
Festivals & Awards
Berlin In'l Film Festival 2019 – Ecumenical Jury Award, Guild Film Prize; Pula Film Festival 2019 – Golden Arena for Best Directing (Minority Co-production); goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film 2019; Eurasia Int'l Film Festival 2019 – Best Screenplay

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