![]() ![]() ![]() While all the adults in her life - her mother, father, and Javi - are easily angered, reactive, and often hostile, Julija is reserved and stoic for the vast majority of the film. It is perhaps for that reason that “Murina” feels less like the typical coming-of-age film than it does a story of escape. For example, when Ante throws her off the boat because she warned him of dangerous rocks, she calmly swims back and rejoins the group, her expression more cold and unbothered than choleric, as if Ante’s antics were just a child’s game she was bored of. ![]() Filipovic’s portrayal of Julija is a mature one. In following the fraught relationship Julija has with her family, “Murina” focuses primarily on her struggle for control and her repressed desire to escape an environment in which she is forced to weather the often irrational wants and whims of those older than her. It is then that Julija decides she would rather replace her father with Javi, leading to a tangled mess of jealousy, hope, punishment, and desire. A new horizon seems to appear for Julija when Javi (Cliff Curtis), her father’s wealthy ex-employer and sometimes-friend, comes to visit the family under the pretext of buying land from Ante and developing it into a resort. ![]() Set on a rocky island in Croatia, “Murina” continues the story of Julija (Gracia Filipovic), a restless teenager living with an at-times abusive father, Ante (Leon Lucev), and apologist mother, Lena (Danica Curcic). Kusijanovic’s first feature film, it premiered on July 10 at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and was largely inspired by Kusijanovic’s 2017 short film, “Into the Blue” (which was well-received in the international film festival circuit). She holds an MFA in directing from Columbia University in New York.In “Murina,” directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, the unpredictable waters of the Adriatic Sea reflect both the tranquility and turmoil of adolescence. Antoneta is an alumna of the Berlinale Talent Lab, Sarajevo Talent Lab, Nisi Masa Short European Pitch, La Femis Producing Atelier, the Marcie Bloom Fellowship, and First Films First. Currently, she is attending Jerusalem Film Lab and the Résidence du Festival of Cinéfondation in Paris where she is developing her first feature film. Her short INTO THE BLUE a tense coming of age set on the rocky cliffs over the Adriatic has been awarded Special International Jury Mention at the 67th Berlin IFF, Youth Jury Award at the 63rd Oberhausen FF, the Heart of Sarajevo at the 23rd Sarajevo FF, Audience Award at 30th Angers FF, and was nominated for a Student Academy Award. Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic is a writer-director born in Dubrovnik whose dramas explore the darker side of desire, the limits of family, and the danger of secrets. ![]()
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February 2023
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