Tereza37 is the official international feature film Oscar© entry from Croatia for the 94th Academy Awards® which premiered at 2020 Warsaw International Film Festival. Every year, the Croatian Film Workers’ Association selects a feature film that will represent Croatia at Oscars in the category of best foreign international film. The film won the Golden Arena Prize in Pula last year for best Croatian film, best director and best script, and also the audience award at the 2020 Zagreb Film Festival.This is the third film of Šerbedžija’s that has represented a country at the Oscars following ‘72 Days’ for Croatia and ‘The Liberation of Skopje’ for Macedonia which he co-directed with his father, renowned actor-director Rade Šerbedžija.
The Oscar shortlist of fifteen finalists is scheduled to be announced on 21 December 2021. The final five nominees are scheduled to be announced on 8 February 2022.
The story is a simple one which follows Tereza who finds that she might be genetically incompatible with her husband after 10 years of marriage. After her fourth miscarriage, she reevaluates her life and relationship. The nuanced touches of her predicament, her inner life, and outer life of women in general in a patriarcal society give the film pathos and comedy. The respected Croatian theatre, film and television actress, Lana Barić, who gives an award-winning performance as the titular Tereza, also wrote the screenplay. She carries the film very resolutely and very effectively. After our interview with Danilo, we were able to interview her as well.
Danilo, what inspired you to make this film?
The story itself. When Lana Barić approached me with the script and asked me if I wanted to direct it, after I read the script, I knew I wanted to do it. It is the kind of script that makes you jealous you didn’t write it. We talked a lot through the years about making our project so I think I really felt and understood her inner scream of injustice. I received further inspiration by listening to many similar female stories.
How did you collaborate as director with your screenwriter and leading actress of the film?
Our collaboration was great. Lana is a great actress but also a very strong person and very intelligent. She knows when she has to act as a screenwriter and when to act as an actress. The moment we started shooting, the screenwriter disappeared from the set and only Lana the actress remained. I guess that’s because we really had time to work on the script. It took us eight years from reading the first draft to opening night.
Tereza37 is the latest addition in a line of recent Croatian films centered around female protagonists that examine patriarchy. Can you tell me something more about that?
There are some films on the same topic that came even later, such as Murina. I am very happy that Croatian films finally have a different female protagonist. Usually, they are young and beautiful ‘dolls’ that go well with leading actors. When we started developing the script none of these films were even planned. I think that is great. We need more different female stories. I guess the reason why there are so many films on that topic is because there is an obvious problem and we want to talk about it. We are living in a man’s world. Patriarchy is not only a Croatian or Balkan problem. It is a world problem. To me it is absurd that in 21th century we still need to talk about it.
Did you workshop the film and if so, where and how did the workshop help you?
Yes, we were developing the script through the EKRAN+ workshop in the Andrej Wajda Film School. I must say we were very lucky to have wonderful mentors such as Ildiko Enyedi or Wojciech Marczewski. Workshopping really helped us a lot. During the workshop we had the opportunity to bring our actors to Poland and shoot two scenes from our future movie.
Did you and your producer go through any government agencies, programs to develop and produce the film?
Yes. In Croatia everything goes through the Croatian Audiovisual center. We received financial support for developing the script, for developing the project and at the end for production and postproduction. Without it we could never have finished our film.
How was the film financed?
As I said before, it was financed mostly through athe Croatian Audiovisual Center, we got something from the city of Zagreb and I had an in-kind award from a Slovenian production house where we did our color correction.
Did you have a festival strategy and if so what was it?
Yes we did have a festival strategy but most of the plans were ruined by the Covid situation. Many festivals were postponed or cancelled. If we look at this crazy situation we are living in I must say I am happy with the festivals so far. We still go to festivals and we received some awards and great feedback.
How was the film received in Croatia?
Very well. We got all the important national film awards, the film reviews are great and people like the film even though it is a hard subject. Again, because of Covid, we had to organize a special way of distribution, mainly with open theaters and then after we went to the indoor theaters, unfortunately, with special epidemic measures.
Questions answered by Lana Barić, lead actress and screenwriter:
Lana, you are the star and screenwriter of the film. You recently won several awards for best actress and screenplay. What inspired you to write this film?
I was inspired by stories that I’ve heard or seen while I was growing up and they sort of stuck with me. The film has a lot to do with me and women I grew up surrounded by and I had this intimate need to tell it, some kind of an urge if you wish, though I didn’t really think it was ever going to be made nor that I would play the main role. It really took a lot of hard work to get there.
You are known as a film, television and theater actress. When did you know that you wanted to write this screenplay?
While I was finishing my studies in Sarajevo and decided to move to Zagreb, I had a gap and that’s when I started — between changing my life setting. It took a long period of time because it was a long process even though it wasn’t a hard one, I didn’t write all the time, just when and if I felt the need.
What was your vision for the film, what message or story were you trying to get across to the audience?
I was led by my heart when I was writing it, having all these stories in my head, and I hope that people will recognize that honest point and where it comes from. For me it was important to give screentime to a female character which is often invisible in real life.
How important was it for you to tell a woman’s story? Have you ever known anyone like Tereza?
Oh, yes. Many women.
Is the film different from what you anticipated it would be when you wrote the screenplay?
The director Danilo Šerbedžija, the producer Irena Markovic and I collaborated closely through the years and talked a lot about all the segments during the process, especially the cast. In many ways it is better than I thought it would be.
How did you collaborate as screenwriter and actress with the director of the film?
Since the process was very long and we had a lot of time, our collaboration was nice and easy, as was the whole shoot. I think we understood each other very well.
Do you see yourself continuing to write for film and perhaps directing in the future?
Sure. I just directed my first short and already started to work on the script which I would hopefully direct in the not so distant future.
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Tereza37 is a fine example of the shift in modern filmmaking in Croatia and establishes new boundaries by challenging women’s roles and taboo subjects from a female perspective.
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Title — TEREZA37
Country — Croatia
Director — Danilo Šerbedžija
Screenwriter — Lana Barić
Cinematography — Mirko Pivčević
Editor — Dubravka Turic
Producer — Irena Marković
Starring — Lana Barić, Ivan Roščić, Marija Škaričić, Leon Lučev, Dragan Mićanović, Goran Marković
International Sales — Focus Media
US Distributor — TBD
Website — https://tereza37.focusmedia.hr/Director — Danilo Šerbedžija
Danilo Šerbedžija was born in 1971 in Zagreb. Šerbedžija graduated in philosophy and the Greek language at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb and completed postgraduate studies at Ohio University School of Film. His credits include a number of documentaries and feature films, including “72 Days” (2010) which was the Oscar entry for Croatia in 2011, the Walnut Omnibus segment of “Zagreb Stories Vol. 3” and the 2016 Oscar entry for Macedonia,“The Liberation of Skopje”, which he co-directed with his father, actor-dirctor Rado Šerbedžija.Selected Review Excerpts (translated from Croatian)
“… this story of hard Dalmatian patriarchy in long, extremely beautiful shots, with a careful eye for detail (director of photography Mirko Pivčević) opening the space for all those braver, more distinctive and resilient heroines who have yet to step into the outworld of domestic cinema.”
- Angela Vidović, express24.sata“Teresa37 is less a film about the consequences of the patriarchal order, and more is the so-called character study of an unusual character. The unconventional protagonist is certainly a plus because such characters are rare in Croatian cinema.
Film Festivals/Awards Include:
Warsaw Film Festival in 2020 — International Premiere
Pula Film Festival 2020 — Winner: Best Film; Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Make-Up, Best Editor
Zagreb Film Festival 2020 — Winner: Audience Award, Best Film
Motovun Film Festival (Croatia) 2020
Balkan New Film Festival, (Sweden) 2021 — Winner: Women’s Achievement Award (Danilo Šerbeždija)
Belgrade International Film Festival (Serbia) 2021 — Winner: Best Actress
Beirut International Women’s Film Festival (Lebanon) 2021
LIFFE — Leskovac International Festival of Film Directing 2021 — Winner: Second “Živojin Žika Pavlović” Award (Danilo Šerbedžija); Best Actress
‘Vladimir Nazor’ National Award (Croatian Ministry of Culture) — Danilo Šerbedžija for directing the film Tereza37
Nòt Film Fest (Italy) 2021 — Best Actress
Golden Studio Award — Best Croatian Film of 2020
Mostra de València (Spain) — Cinema del Mediterrani 2020
Arras Film Festival (France) 2020
Indy FilmFest, Indianaoplis (US) 2021
Cinejoy/Cinequest FF (US), 2021Official Trailer:
https://vimeo.com/446246956
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