Dara of Jasenovac
Dara of Jasenovac | |
---|---|
Directed by | Predrag Antonijević |
Written by | Nataša Drakulić |
Produced by | Predrag Antonijević Maksa Ćatović Petar Vukašinović |
Starring | Biljana Čekić Vuk Kostić Marko Janketić |
Cinematography | Miloš Kodemo |
Edited by | Filip Dedić |
Music by | Roman Goršek Aleksandra Kovač |
Production companies | Dandelion Production Inc Film Danas Komuna Cineplanet |
Distributed by | MegaCom Film[1] 101 Studios (US)[2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
Country | Serbia |
Language | Serbian |
Budget | 3,6 million $ |
Dara of Jasenovac (Serbian: Дара из Јасеновца, romanized: Dara iz Jasenovca) is a 2020 Serbian historical drama film directed by Predrag Antonijević. Based on the testimonies of survivors,[3] it deals with war crimes and atrocities that took place at the World War II Jasenovac concentration camp,[4] which was a part of the Holocaust and the wider genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia.
The movie was set to premiere in early 2020,[5] commemorating 75 years since the escape of the remaining prisoners from the camp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the premiere was postponed to 22 October 2020.[6][7] The premiere was in late 2020 postponed again to a mid-2021 release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was selected as the Serbian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.[8] Dara of Jasenovac has been submitted for consideration for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, while young actress Biljana Čekić was submitted for consideration for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.[9]
Plot
After the Axis-led Kozara Offensive the majority of local Serb population ends up in Croatian Ustasha concentration camps.
With no information about whereabouts of her father, twelve-year-old Dara, her mother and two brothers end up in Jasenovac concentration and extermination camp, where her mother and older brother get killed by the Ustashas.
Dara makes it her personal mission and goal to insure the survival of her younger brother.[10]
Cast
Biljana Čekić | Dara |
Vuk Kostić | Miroslav Filipović |
Marko Janketić | Vjekoslav Luburić |
Igor Đorđević | Ante Vrban |
Radoslav Milenković | A man |
Nataša Ninković | Jovanka Končar |
Bojan Žirović | Jaša |
Nikolina Jelisavac | Mileva |
Alisa Radaković | Nada Sakić |
Jelena Grujičić | Blankica |
Sanja Moravčić | Diana Budisavljević |
Production
An old brickyard located in the village of Kolut near Sombor was reconstructed and turned into a camp by production designer Goran Joksimović. The second part of the movie was shot in Bela Crkva.[11]
Children from Kozarska Dubica were chosen to portray numerous children who were imprisoned in the camp. Scenes with the children were shot in sequence in order to mask the growth of children over the three months of shooting and those young actors would better understand the material.[12] A psychologist was kept on the set.[12]
A number of actors from Republika Srpska took part in the project,[13] joined by their colleagues from Serbia.
Dara in Jasenovac was supported by Ministry of Culture and Information and Film Center Serbia.[14]
American scholar Michael Berenbaum served as history consultant and executive producer.[15][16]
The Serbian premiere took place in Gračanica and the movie was screened for seven days.[17]
101 Studios secured the U.S. rights for the film which is set to be released in limited theatres on 5 February 2021.[16][18]
Reception
Part of the Croatian media complained about the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC)'s lack of investment in historical films, in contrast to Film Center Serbia (FCS), and blamed them because a film that "depicts Croats as bad", since Vjekoslav Luburić is one of its main characters, was going to be distributed worldwide. They, however, praised Antonijević and Drakulić, calling them "a quality director and a quality screenwriter", as well as the film production.[19]
Jay Weissberg of Variety gave the film a negative review. While Weissberg does not dispute the brutality of the Ustasha regime and cruelty in Jasenovac, he questions the producers' motives and labels the work as an "undisguised piece of Serbian nationalist propaganda", writing that it contains "undisguised anti-Croatian and anti-Catholic elements" which are "designed as incendiary fodder" for current conflicts, and that the film lacks "any reflection on the dangers of nationalism, murderous racism and genocide" which are instead replaced with "cheap sensation and sentiment".[20] Film director Antonijević himself responded to Weissberg, claiming that he usually does not respond to film critics. He stated that for forty years of his career he never saw anything like Weissberg's text. He went on to explain that the critic made a political signal to the Academy not to nominate the film for the Award for Best International Feature Film, otherwise they would be nominating "Serbian propaganda". Antonijević also dubbed Weissberg's text not actually film criticism–"because there were only two or three sentences about the film itself"–but rather a pamphlet. Antonijević noted that that the critic often travels to seminars in Croatia and that "it was clear where that was coming from".[21] President of the Board of Directors of Film Center of Serbia Jelena Trivan stated that such a reaction was expected, "especially from Croatian lobbyists". Serbian Minister of Culture and Information Maja Gojković went on to allude that the negative reviews were ordered by Croatia.[22] Representatives of the Film distributor MegaCom Film stated that Weissberg never wrote a film critic of any Serbian film from 2003 until now, and that his critic is a relativization and trivialization of genocide.[23]
Writing for Film Threat, Ray Lobo reviewed the film positively, noting that it is "a unique World War II story worth watching" and serves as a "World War II education" as well as an "education in the Balkan conflicts of the last decade of the twentieth century". Lobo praises the film's production quality and lighting as well as the cast for effectively conveying "both the degradation of camp life and the will to live".[24]
Due to coordinated rating on IMDB, either with the highest or the lowest number of stars, IMDB temporarily disabled the rating option for the film in February 2021.[25]
See also
- List of submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
- List of Serbian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
- ^ "PREMIJERA FILMA "DARA IZ JASENOVCA" PLANIRANA ZA 22. OKTOBAR | MCF". mcf.rs. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ Dostanić, Dafina. ""Realnost logoraša je bila JOŠ JEZIVIJA": Nataša Drakulić o filmu "Dara iz Jasenovca"". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ Serbia, RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Premijera filma "Dara iz Jasenovca" planirana za 22. oktobar". www.rts.rs. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dusanic, Dragana (2019-11-01). "SNIMA SE: "Dara iz Jasenovca" u režiji Predraga Gage Antonijevića". Antrfile (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ Serbia, RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Premijera filma "Dara iz Jasenovca" planirana za 22. oktobar". www.rts.rs. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Istorijska drama „Dara iz Jasenovca" premijerno 22. oktobra 2020. godine « FCS". www.fcs.rs. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "Премијера филма "Дара из Јасеновца" планирана за 22. октобар". Дневник (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "'Dara from Jasenovac' Serbia's candidate for Oscar's best international film". N1. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ FoNet, Piše. "Film "Dara iz Jasenovca" kandidovan i za Zlatni globus". Dnevni list Danas (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-12-03.
- ^ ""Dara iz Jasenovca" film o brutalnim ustaškim zločinima". Studio B. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "Potresne scene stradanja srpske dece u logoru smrti u doba NDH: Film "Dara iz Jasenovca" stiže na proleće". www.novosti.rs (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ a b "Serbia—Dara of Jasenovac". Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Premijera filma "Dara iz Jasenovca" planirana za 22. oktobar". Fajteri (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "Istorijska drama „Dara iz Jasenovca" premijerno 22. oktobra 2020. godine « FCS". www.fcs.rs. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "O filmu "Dara iz Jasenovca": Samo ustaše imale logore smrti za srpsku decu". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-12-05.
- ^ a b Fleming Jr., Mike (21 December 2020). "'Dara Of Jasenovac' Named Serbia's Official Oscar Entry As 101 Studios Makes U.S. Rights Deal". deadline.com.
- ^ "PREMIJERA FILMA "DARA IZ JASENOVCA": Sećanje na jasenovačko stradanje gledaju i Srbi na KiM". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-12-05.
- ^ Welk, Brian (18 January 2021). "'Dara of Jasenovac' Trailer Shows Horrors at Croatian Concentration Camp Through Young Girl's Eyes". thewrap.com.
- ^ "ZAKUKALI ZBOG "DARE IZ JASENOVCA": Hrvatski mediji zapomažu jer Zagreb ne ulaže ništa, dok Srbija podržava domaću kinematografiju". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-12-05.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (2021-01-25). "'Dara of Jasenovac' Review: A Holocaust Movie With Questionable Intentions". Variety.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "OVAJ FILM SMO KRVLjU PLATILI: Predrag Antonijević o optužbama kritičara "Varajetija" da je "Dara" nacionalistički pamflet". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "TEŠKE OPTUŽBE MAJE GOJKOVIĆ: Hrvatska naručila negativne kritike protiv filma 'Dara iz Jasenovca'?!". Slobodna Bosna (in Bosnian). 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "NOVE KRITIKE AMERIČKIH MEDIJA O FILMU "DARA IZ JASENOVCA" | MCF". mcf.rs. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ Lobo, Ray (27 January 2021). "Dara of Jasenovac". filmthreat.com.
- ^ Serbia, RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "IMDB ukinuo ocenjivanje „Dare iz Jasenovca"". www.rts.rs. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)