PODGORICA: The Tower of Strength / Obraz by Nikola Vukcević recorded over 10,000 admissions in Montenegro during its first ten days in cinemas. A coproduction between Montenegro, Serbia, Germany and Croatia, The Tower of Strength was Montenegro’s candidate for the 98th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award in the Best International Feature Film category.
In addition to regular cinema distribution, the film team is travelling throughout the country (Bijelo Polje, Pljevlja, Cetinje, and Nikšić) for special screenings and discussions with the audience, organised by the Network of Cinema Screeners of Montenegro (Mreža kinoprikazivača Crne Gore).
The Slovenian premiere is scheduled for 12 March in Ljubljana, where the distribution of a Montenegrin film is organised for the first time, according to the Film Centre of Montenegro.
The film is currently presented at the 40th edition of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in Florida (20 – 28 February 2026), making its 27th selection for an international film festival. At the same time, it is screening in a replay of the 23rd International Film Festival in Chennai (India), where it won the Best World Cinema Feature Film in December 2025.
The Tower of Strength had its world premiere at the 2024 Cottbus Film Festival, and later won the awards for best director and best screenplay at the Zaragoza International Film Festival, and also the award for best cinematographer (Đorđe Stojiljković) at the Jaipur International Film Festival. It had its Montenegrin premiere in the main competition of 38th Montenegro Film Festival (23 – 29 August 2025).
Set in 1941 Montenegro during WWII, The Tower of Strength follows Doka, a Muslim Albanian patriarch, who defies his former enemy Gjona, a member of the SS division “Skanderbeg”, to protect a Montenegrin Christian child being hunted by Gjonaj’s troops.
The film was produced by Galileo Productions and coproduced by Cinnamon Films, Embrio Production, Progressive Films, Mogador Film, with support from the Radio-Television of Montenegro, the Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture and Media, and CEKUM.
