What does it mean to have an audience in mind? And in a sense, I always have an audience in mind. Kusijanović: That is a very good thing you mention because, very often, it can be misinterpreted. So, for me, that sense of entrapment came from finding the places that feel impossible to live in.

I was looking for a place that is going to feel very suffocating even when we go into wide spaces. Can you talk a little bit more about how that came into play in the story? So it's a very limited location, but such a dramatic location. And you have the characters, basically, in that location for the whole film. 'Murina' Credit: Kino Lorber NFS: I did want to ask about the setting, because it is so striking. I don't think that even their family context is the same at all, but the agility and the strength and resilience and desire and turmoil is somehow similar. And I wrote Murina specifically for her, given that, seeing her in those spaces-it's not the same character between Murina and a short film. And then I met Gracija, who was absolutely amazing.Īnd she deserved to be on screen, captured forever before she comes fully into adulthood. So, from that time, I drew all of these delicate emotions, and I started making the short film Into the Blue. And it was real like Shakespearean dramas.

It felt like life was so emotionally layered and complex even though we were just kids. Being completely set free, running around those rocks, and being in between a physical danger and these inner hormones that were luring at this time, at 14, and 15, and 13.

Dive in!īut the inspirations for Murina came from being on an island for a very long time as a child. We chat about the challenges of shooting 40 feet underwater, how she used her locations, and her writing process. Murina is coming to theaters this month, and No Film School had the opportunity to speak with Kusijanović ahead of the release. You want what Julija wants, and you're willing to go with her, no matter how far. It's a film that forces you to lean forward, read between the lines, notice every expression of the characters. All those minuscule moments that feel like a scream for freedom. The beautiful but deadly seaside home where she's trapped, the Adriatic Sea thrumming like a heartbeat under floorboards. There's so much to admire here-the quiet tenacity of main character Julija ( Gracija Filipovic), and how the film carefully unfolds through her eyes only. The 2021 Cannes Camera d'Or winner Murina, directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, is one for me.Įffortless in its tension and storytelling, it speaks to a very specific experience of living under an overbearing parent at a young age, when the world feels at once full of possibility and absolutely closed off. Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović is a Cannes winner and an inspiration.Įvery so often, a movie comes along that reminds you why you love film.

Alamat blue film di youtube