
North American Premiere
Emilija Gašić makes a vibrant debut with this endearing dramedy following three teenage sisters coming of age in the late 90s Serbian countryside while the war rages in the background. As their father leaves for the front line, another young family arrives next door, adding to their little clique and setting the stage for exciting hangouts, new friendships, and first crushes.
Flirting with docu-fiction (the girls record home videos for their dad), Gašić expertly employs found footage techniques to capture the delightful cacophony of girlie mischief and teenage highs and lows in all their messy, hormonal glory; sibling rivalries, the occasional verbal sting, or a prank taken too far… Yet despite all the mirth, the film never loses sight of the threat looming over them. Tonally and stylistically on point, this is an astute snapshot of a lovable family trying to keep its footing during a volatile time.
Oct 3 & 5: Q&A with director Emilija Gasic
Presented by
Media Partner
Viktorija Vasiljević, Milica Gicić, Tamara Gajović, Pavle Čemerikić, Jelena Djokić, Goran Bogdan
Serbia
2024
In Serbian with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits & Director
Producer
Andrijana Sofranić Šućur, Miloš Ivanović, Djordje Ćirić
Screenwriter
Emilija Gašić
Cinematography
Inés Gowland
Editor
Jovana Filipović
Production Design
Maja Đuričić

Emilija Gašić
Emilija Gašić is an award-winning Serbian filmmaker based in New York City. She graduated with an MFA in Cinematography from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Emilija grew up in a small town in Yugoslavia against a background of news reports on war, a dying country, and a sense of uncertainty which deeply affected her sensibility in arts and formed her observant style in creating tension and atmosphere. Her films have been screened at renowned festivals such as Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, Maryland Film Festival, and the Oscar-qualifying Izmir Kisa Film Festival. Emilija developed her debut feature 78 Days at Venice Biennale College of Cinema 2020. In 2021, she co-wrote Mileva alongside Nicola Lanthier-Rogers, which was recognized with the Production Honorable Mention Award by the Sloan Foundation. She co-founded Istok Films with Alex Wiske and has shot numerous films internationally as a cinematographer, receiving a Nikon Storytellers Award.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Mongrels
Like Riceboy Sleeps, Jerome Yoo's debut feature is a beguiling, introspective film looking back on the Korean immigrant experience in the Canadian hinterland, here split across three chapters, each with a distinct visual aesthetic.
Doctor Zhivago
This Valentine Day, wrap yourself in David Lean's epic, all-star love story, set against the tumult of the Russian Revolution. With Maurice Jarre's haunting score, Omar Sharif as the soulful doctor/poet, and Julie Christie as his soul-mate Lara.
Oscar® Shorts 2025: Documentary
Four of this year's short documentary nominees are from the USA, and three of them deal with violence: a prisoner on death row, Parkland, and a police shooting incident in Chicago, 2018. Happily the other nominees focus on classical music.
Paying For It
Talk about a hall of mirrors! Sook-Yin Lee wittily adapts the graphic novel of the same name by her ex-boyfriend, Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, about the end of their relationship Brown's subsequent decision to start paying for sex.
Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise)
The crowning glory of classical French cinema, this sumptuous melodrama brings to life the early 19th century Boulevard du Crime in Paris, where popular audiences for mime shows and carnival rub shoulders with wealthy patrons of classical theatre.
Brief Encounter
Considered one of the greatest British films ever made, this evergreen love story plays like In the Mood for Love, 1945 edition, with Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson instead of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, and Rachmaninoff instead of Nat King Cole.