– The psychological drama explores the nature of truth in a story centring on a young boy who lies about his brother’s death, starring Gavrilo Pejović, Goran Bodgan and Marija Pikić
Director Bojan Vuletić and actors Gavrilo Pejović and Viktor Radišić on the set of The White Week (© Hassan Abdelghani)
Last week saw shooting wrap in Serbia on The White Week, the third feature film by Serbian writer-director Bojan Vuletić, who’s best known for the 2017 Berlinale Panorama title Requiem for Mrs. J and for the TV series The Family, which won the Best Central and Eastern European Series Award in Serial Killer 2021 as well as four Hearts of Sarajevo, including for Best Series.
Billed as a contemporary psychological drama, the film centres on ten-year-old Djordje (Gavrilo Pejović). When his older brother, Jovan (Viktor Radišić), drowns after attempting to save a dog from a river following an argument with their strict father, Slobodan (Goran Bogdan, nominated for the European Film Award for Father), shocked and traumatised Djordje lies to him and his mother (Marija Pikić, best known for Children of Sarajevo and A Ballad), telling them strange men abducted Jovan. An extensive search for the missing boy ensues, along with the beginnings of Djordje’s inner struggle. Fear of foreigners, corruption, paranoia and malice begin to surface within the community. When his brother’s body washes up on the riverbank, Djordje’s sense of guilt and forced confrontation with reality push him to breaking point, and he tells Slobodan everything. But his father has changed. He’s become a broken man who’s already lost one son and who doesn’t want to lose another.
Vuletić cites “post-truth” as being key to the story. “Doubts over what’s truth and what’s lie and manipulation of facts become a normal mode of communication,” the director explains. “Depending on interpretation and the sources involved, an unequivocal event can turn into a lie in a matter of minutes, and something that never happened becomes a publicly accepted truth. That’s what this story is about, but it’s also about a complex relationship between a father and son, riddled with conflict, frustration and the need for love.”
The cast also includes Silvija Križan, Jovo Maksić and Milan Čučilović. Jelena Stanković, who lensed Requiem for Mrs. J, served as DoP on the film, as she also did on Karlovy Vary winner As Far as I Can Walk, whose editor Vanja Kovačević (additionally known for The New Year That Never Came) is likewise involved in Vuletić’s latest work.
The White Week is being produced by Jelena Mitrović for Serbia’s Baš Čelik, Boris T Matić and Lana Matić for Croatia’s Propeler Film, Danijel Hočevar for Slovenia’s Vertigo and Ivan Djurović for Montenegro’s Artikulacija.
