Hana Jušić's feature film God Will Not Help received a Special Mention from the jury in the Balkan Competition program at the Sofia International Film Festival.
The award was presented at the closing ceremony on March 21. Consisting of John Paul Davidson (UK), Andrei Pakhov (Ukraine), and Vanya Rainova (Bulgaria), the jury highlighted the film’s striking directorial approach and its ability to convey complex themes of deception and female emancipation without dialogue. The main award in the same program went to Mother, directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska. Maja Vukić, Deputy Director of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, accepted the award on behalf of Jušić.
God Will Not Help is Hana Jušić’s second feature film, a historical drama with elements of mystery that follows the arrival of a mysterious stranger in a remote Dalmatian village. Through the relationship between two women, the film explores communication and understanding despite linguistic and cultural differences.
The film screened in Sofia on March 17 and 18, and its festival journey continues. It will next be presented in the international competition at the Bari International Film & TV Festival, followed by screenings at the Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema festival in Brazil and the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Film Festival in the United States.
The film premiered at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where the lead actresses, Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselčić, won the Leopard Award for Best Performance in the main competition program. The film later had its regional premiere at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where it received the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality.
God Will Not Help was produced by Kinorama with Ankica Jurić Tilić as the producer. It is a co-production involving partners from Italy, Romania, Greece, France, and Slovenia.
During the Balkan Competition program in Sofia, three minority Croatian co-productions were screened: Otter, directed by Srđan Vuletić; Yugo Florida, directed by Vladimir Tagić; and How Come It’s So Green Here?, directed by Nikola Ležaić. In collaboration with the Zagreb Film Festival, the festival presented a selection of Croatian short films from the Kockice program of the 22nd ZFF.
