- Debut film
Odpuščanje
- Documentary Film
- 82'
- 2021
- Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo
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Synopsis
An 18-year-old girl is killed in a bitter family feud in the Albanian highlands. Her bereaved father is torn by the pressures from a local bishop and an NGO chairman from the capital, not only to forgive the imprisoned killer and his family, as a Christian, but to reconcile with them – as the age-old tribal code, Kanun, once required. A poignant and insightful account of a patriarchal society caught between a lingering past and a precarious present.
Director
Director's statement
What really goes on behind closed doors in patriarchal rituals, where men seem to make all the decisions? In 2013, I set out to answer this question. A year later, after thorough research, I set off f
What really goes on behind closed doors in patriarchal rituals, where men seem to make all the decisions? In 2013, I set out to answer this question. A year later, after thorough research, I set off from Slovenia to film a strongly patriarchal community in the Balkans, focusing on the male characters. I ended up filming over the course of five years and living in Albania for two years. I discovered a modern country in transition, with a traumatic past of an isolationist communist dictatorship that had destroyed tradition, religion, and tribal family ties. To fill the social void and provide meaning, the old, conflicting value systems have been brought back – yet half-remembered, reinterpreted, abused. Similarly, increasingly, elsewhere in Europe and the West, with the far-right neo-traditionalist populism on the rise, a revisiting of tradition, patriarchy, and religion is taking place, reviving old solutions to deal with modern problems. My film is an example of why this does not work.
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important awards
Balkan Dox programme. In documentary filmmaking, some topics are more difficult and sensitive to approach and deal with than others. In Reconciliation, Marija Zidar tried and succeeded to see and paint the whole picture of blood feuds and attempts at reconciliation between families, both rooted in the ancient tribal code in the secluded mountains of Northern Albania. Her perspective is both insider’s and outsider’s, her take on the topic and the subjects involved is extremely sensitive and highly ethical, so the subjects function as complex, highly developed characters without losing authenticity and without even a hint of being exploited. With the visual appeal of the beautiful, but harsh mountains, the societal landscape is matched with a natural one in a seamless, clever way, making Reconciliation a well-rounded film, smartly made, convincing and compelling, important on the cinematically level as much as on the topical.
Gre za premišljen film, ki odpira vpogled v neopatriarhalne strukture. Ob intimni družinski tragediji subtilno prikaže spotikanje populizma ob demokratizem, pri čemer v presojo gledalk in gledalcev ne posega.
Avtorica Marija Zidar skozi zapleten konflikt med sorodniki izriše kompleksno podobo patriarhalne družbe. Z natančno in zadržano opazovalno tehniko nas popelje v samo jedro dveh sprtih družin in tako ustvari večplasten in presunljiv dokumentarni film.
Družinska tragedija, tradicionalna albanska vas sredi gorskih brezpotij. Nova gospoda in uprava, svečeniki in odvetniki, proces snemanja, ki je trajal šest let. Vse to je montaža uspela oblikovati v vizualno in dramaturško celoto. Glavni lik filma, dekle, ubito v družinskem sporu, ostaja prisoten v svoji bolečini, molku in pogledu njene matere. Moški liki – sosedje, sorodniki, uradniki in svečeniki – so okupirani z mačo temami: kdo je pomembnejši in kdo si je nagrabil več denarja. Sistem se je spremnil, a patriarhat je ostal.
Dokudoc žirija, v sestavi Uja Irgolič, filmska montažerka, Jan Gogola jr., filmski režiser, Rok Biček, filmski režiser in producent, je složno podelila naziv DOKUDOC IZBRANI 2021 dokumentarnemu filmu ODPUŠČANJE, režiserke Marije Zidar. Dokudoc žirija je svojo odločitev pojasnila:
Filmska drama Odpuščanje (Reconciliation) govori o konkretnih in globalnih razmerah hkrati. Konflikt med dvema družinama hkrati ponazarja tudi konflikt med družbenimi konteksti v sodobnem svetu. Pomeni ideologij so nam skriti, prav tako kot obrazi sosedov. Če se kot pijanec plota držimo samo in predvsem tradicije, potem izgubimo priložnost spoznati sedanjost in tudi prihodnost. Kot primer v filmu lahko vidimo prizor, ko dva moška s sovražnih bregov med popravljanjem vodnjaka sodelujeta, a le dokler se ne začne razprava o hierarhiji tradicionalnih in verskih pravil. Režiserka Marija Zidar je z upodobitvijo likov dosegla tako zelo intimne odnose, da se gledalec lahko popolnoma vživi v zgodbo. Precizna uporaba kamere iz roke izraža vidno in nevidno napetost, ko akterji poskušajo vzpostaviti spravo. Film Odpuščanje intenzivno analizira osebni svet, v katerem smo postavili zidove tako okoli sebe kot tudi znotraj sebe.
Cine Balkan Panorama
The 2021 Young Onion Award Special Mention goes to Reconciliation. A beautiful film that takes us to a remote place and into a community stuck with lethal tradition. A film about irreconcilable tragedy with hope of resolution through dialogue by human will against all odds.
Say no to the status quo
Nominations
Screenings
Extended data
The Business of Revenge (English) (working title)
Reconciliation (English)
Gjakmarrja (Albanian) (working title)
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Budget
All financial information is obtained from official sources. I.e. producers or organizations which provided the financial support.
črnogorsko: Izuzetno hrabar, jak i potresan dokumentarni film koji na otvoren način, bez ustezanja, pokazuje surovost i besmislenost određenih običaja koji su ukorijenjeni na našim prostorima, i kroz analizu tradicije otvara priču o svijetu korupcije, licemjerja i eksploatacije.
Comitee: Igor Palčič, Radovan Mišić, Boris Petkovič, Sonja Prosenc (alternate)
Comitee: Živa Emeršič, Blaž Lukan, Matevž Luzar, Klemen Dvornik (alternate)
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