"What's done is done. You can't change fate."
What did Branko just say? These are the first words Nenad hears from him after the tragic car accident on the night of his wedding. The accident that killed his bride and was caused by Branko, the bride's father.
Branko is Montenegrin, came to Germany years ago to work. A loud, proud man with traditional ideas. Nenad is also of Montenegrin origin, a second generation guest worker's son in Cologne. For him, Branko embodies the rough and lively Balkans. His daughter Sanja therefore means to him not only great love, but also identity.
But with Sanja's death, Nenad suddenly finds himself confronted with a side of the Balkans that is foreign to him. Branko draws on fate to explain his daughter's death. At the funeral in the mountains of Montenegro, Nenad realizes that the whole family accuses only fate, but no one accuses Branko.
The funeral ceremony turns into an unbearable theatrical farce for Nenad. The loud shouting, the monotonous lamentations, and of all people, the culprit of the accident wants to throw himself into the grave to the dead in a spectacle of grief and despair. This is not compatible with Nenad's understanding of mourning, guilt and responsibility. In a cry of despair, he asks him to jump into the grave. For the family, Nenad's anger is incomprehensible. They are confused: he has interrupted the ceremony.
On the drive home to Germany, there is an iron silence between Nenad and Branko. Branko navigates the two into increasingly snowy terrain until the road is no longer passable. The car keeps slipping, dangerously approaching the abyss. They have to repeatedly push the car back to the middle of the road. When Branko maneuvers himself into a hopeless situation, Nenad has his life in his hands. He challenges "fate": wants to finally force the confession of guilt from him.
awards & Festivals
- Nominierung für First Steps Award 2006
- Nominierung für den Produzentenpreis, Internationales Studentenfilmfestival »Sehsüchte« 2006
- Publikumspreis, Internationales Kurzfilmfestival Dresden 2006
- »Filmförderpreis für Koproduktion in Deutschland und Mittel- und Osteuropa« des Filmbüros Baden-Württemberg und der Robert-Bosch-Stiftung, Filmschau Baden-Württemberg 2004
- Stuttgartnacht Stuttgart 2009
- NexT International Short and Medium Length Film Festival Bukarest, Rumänien 2009
- SKENA UP Festival Pristina, Kosovo 2008
- AZA Digital Cinema Festival Athen, Griechenland 2008
- Napolifilmfestival Neapel, Italien 2008
- 1st Seoul International Family Film Festival Seoul, Korea 2007
- Europäische Kurzfilmbiennale Ludwigsburg 2007
- »Kino über den Linden« der Bertelsmann AG Berlin 2007
- Tekfestival Rom, Italien 2007
- 19. Filmfest Dresden 2007
- goEast 7. Festival des Mittel- und Osteuropäischen Films Wiesbaden 2007
- 8. Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival Landshut 2007
- 12. Filmfestival Türkei/Deutschland Nürnberg 2007
- 6. Emirates Film Competition Abu Dhabi, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate 2007
- 17. Bamberger Kurzfilmtage 2007
- 16. International Short Film Festival Flickerfest Bondi Beach, Australien 2007
- 11th IFFK International Film Festival of Kerala Indien 2006
- 4. Tirana International Film Festival Tirana, Albanien 2006
- 19. exground Filmfest Wiesbaden 2006
- 26. Internationales Festival der Filmhochschulen München 2006
- 32nd Festival Internacional Filmets Badalona, Spanien 2006
- 12ème Festival International du Film et de la Television CINEMA TOUT ECRAN Genf, Schweiz 2006
- 28e Festival International Cinema Mediterranéen Montpellier Frankreich 2006
- 8th International Festival of Student Film Belgrad, Serbien und Montenegro 2006
- 11. International TV Festival Bar, Montenegro 2006
- European film school Festival Vilnius Film Shorts Vilnius, Littauen 2006
- 13. Internationales Filmfest Oldenburg 2006
- 59. festival internazionale del film Locarno short film competition »Leopards of Tomorrow«
Locarno, Schweiz 2006
- 21. Cinema Jove Festival International de Cine Valencia, Spanien 2006
- 14th Edition of Arcipelago – International Festival of Short Films and New Images Section Onde Corte – International Short Films Competition Rom, Italien 2006
- 11. International Student Film Festival Tel Aviv, Israel 2006
- Internationaler Filmkongress der Filmstiftung NRW und der Cologne Conference
»Spectrum Junger Film« Köln 2006
- 29. Grenzland-Filmtage Selb 2006
- 18. Internationales Kurzfilmfestival Dresden Nationaler Wettbewerb 2016
- 6. goEast Festival des mittel- und osteuropäischen Films 5.-11. April 2006
- Camerimage »Students‘ World Panorama« 2005 Lodz, Polen
