The multiple award-winning domestic film Strahinja Banović – As Far As I Can Walk by Stefan Arsenijević will begin its American cinema distribution with a ceremonial screening on Friday, June 30th, at the famous New York IFC Center. During the first three days of the film screening in this cinema, director Stefan Arsenijević, lead actor Ibrahim Koma, producer Miroslav Mogorović and director of photography Jelena Stanković will attend the screenings, and talk with the audience. The IFC Center is a cult New York cinema known for showing quality art films. The American distributor of the film is ArtMattan Films.
A strong and authentic love story, As Far As I Can Walk had its world premiere at one of the most important European festivals, in Karlovy Vary, where it won as many as five awards, including the main prize, the Crystal Globe Grand Prix for the best film. This is the first time in this century that a Serbian film has triumphed in the main competition program at one of the world’s most important A category festivals. As Far As I Can Walk has so far participated in 50 international film festivals and won more than 30 awards.
The film is inspired by the famous Serbian epic poem Banović Strahinja, modernized and placed in the context of the contemporary refugee crisis. The main character is a young migrant from Africa who, wanting to fit in as well as possible in the new environment, takes the Serbian name Strahinja. With his wife Ababuo, he lives in a refugee camp in Krnjaca, until a new wave of refugees from Syria, including the charismatic Ali, brings unrest into their lives. Ababuo disappears without explanation, so Strahinja sets out on the Balkan migrant route for completely different reasons than all the others – out of love.