The future of film in the Western Balkans lies in the cooperation between the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Sehad Cekić and Ivan Djurović say in their interview for South East Europe: People and Culture. The two are acting as producers of director Nemanja Bečanović’s film debut under the working title of The Ascent.

The film was shot toward the end of last year at the winter sports centre of Zabljak. It was co-produced by Jump Cut and Artikulacije from Montenegro and Arkadena from Slovenia. The project also received strong support from the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture.

The film’s producers are reluctant to reveal too much about the story at this stage, but they have confirmed that the film tells the story of a young literature graduate who is struggling to finish his first novel. He decides to go to his friend’s country estate in order to dedicate himself to writing in peace. At the estate, which is situated in an obscure mountainous landscape, there are farmers – in particular, one very strange family that doesn’t have contact with civilization. They are illiterate, they live in unclearly defined sexual relations and they are devoted to nature. The film’s producers say that the rest will be revealed in the cinemas… 

The leading roles in the film are played by Amar Selimović from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vlado Jovanovski from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Inti Sraj from Slovenia, and Varja Djukić and Ana Vucković from Montenegro. The director of photography is Jure Verovšek, a Slovenian. The director and author of the screenplay is Nemanja Bečanović, who graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje.

Cekić says that the filming was preceded by two years of careful preparation, which made it possible for the filming to be completed before schedule. "We knew from the outset what the style of the film would be and what it is we wanted to achieve," Cekić said.

Filming during the months of October and November at Zabljak is very risky owing to bad weather conditions. However, the film crew was lucky because the weather was extremely pleasant during the four weeks of filming. Director Nemanja Bečanović adds that the whole process was extremely exciting.

"The locations gave a distinct quality to the film. We wanted it to look like a western directed by Anthony Mann, taking place in mountainous regions and not as a film by John Ford taking place in a desert," said Bečanović. The director says that the American painter Andrew Wyeth and his work entitled Christina's World greatly influenced the visual aspect of the film, adding that he has an affinity for art films.

The film has been talked about for quite some time now because its screenplay, also by Nemanja Bečanović, was the first ever from Montenegro to be included in CineLink. This is the Industry section of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which is concerned with the development of screenplay writing and offers a good basis for possible co-productions.

"CineLink represents the future of our film industry. We have made a substantial number of contacts and have met a lot of people. They have very little experience with films from Montenegro. Another important point is that the film’s participation in CineLink gave it credibility. From then on, all doors we knocked on opened more easily," said Cekić.

In his interview for South East Europe: People and Culture, the producer Ivan Djurović said that the sole fact that the screenplay, which was the work of a debutant, was accepted by CineLink is already a great achievement and almost without precedent. "It was a wonderful experience and has opened other doors for new projects," said Djurović.

Both Cekić and Djurović agree that the future of film in the region lies in cooperation between the countries of former Yugoslavia." It is a kind of intra-regional cooperation where Montenegro has to make its contribution in order to become a fully fledged partner," says Cekić.

Nemanja Bečanović has been a member and founder of a number of rock bands in Montenegro. He is not averse to the idea of composing the score for the film but adds that he has not yet made a final decision. As for the content of the film, the authors are still not willing to talk about it in detail. They expect the film to have its premiere in August 2011 at the Herceg Novi Film Festival.