The short documentary film “At the End of the Road” by Ivana Todorović was selected for the program of the 18th Doc Edge in New Zealand. The film will be screened in Auckland between May 30th and June 1st this year. “Doc Edge” is the leading documentary film festival in the Pacific, and awards from Doc Edge make winners eligible for Oscar qualifications .
This film follows two protagonists, Željko and Viki, who have dedicated their lives to ensuring a peaceful and dignified end for dying horses. On a small estate near, they sacrifice everything they have to ensure these forgotten beings receive the compassion and empathy they deserve.
“When it comes to the point where they are of no use to humans, horses, wonderful and powerful animals, have the same fate as humans. If we have no one to take care of us, we will be left to die alone. On their small farm, Željko and Viki kept horses that other people rejected, because they were no longer useful for work or racing, and would have ended up in the slaughterhouse. In this asylum they created a safe place for horses to spend their last days. Although with the constant burden of daily struggle to provide money, they continue to give them selfless love. That’s why I decided to make this film – to spread the love and care that Željko and Viki give to horses. I hope this film will convey the message of empathy for all living beings,” the author said.
The film crew consists of: Ivana Todorović (director and production), Marija Jelušić (editing), Milan Vlaški (camera), Douglas Oppedahl (sound), Boris Mijatović (music), Milan Mihajlović (sound design), Jovana Radovanović (film color), Isidora Nikolić and Miloš Deskoković (credit), Marta Cvetković (translation), Kathleen McInnis (marketing producer), Milina Trišić and Jesper Osmund (editing supervisors), Ljubinka Stojanović, Audrius Stonys and Melina Pota Koljević (drama supervisors). The film was created under the auspices of Blok Film production, with the support of Film Center Serbia.
The film has so far been shown at Oregon Documentary Film Festival, where it received the award for the best international film, PPalm Springs International ShortFest, NewPort Beach International Film Festival and Phoenix Film Festival in the USA, as well as the Nepal International Film Festival, Dokufest in Prizren and Makedox Festival in Skopje. The film was awarded at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival in Portland (USA).
Ivana Todorović is a director of short socially engaged films. The focus of her films is the exploration of trauma and recovery through empathy. Her latest documentary “At the End of the Road” (2022, Serbia) had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International ShortFest in California and won the Best International Film Award at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival.
Herfeature film “When I’m Home” (Belgrade, 2020) won many awards around the world and was shown at the exhibition “The Principle of Migration” at The New York Foundation for the Arts gallery in New York. Her documentaries “Adam’s Island”, “When I Was a Kid, I Was a Kid”, “A Harlem Mother”, “Rapresent” and “Everyday Life of Roma Children in Block 71”, have been screened at more than 200 international film festivals, among others in Berlin (in the Berlinale Shorts competition program), Rotterdam and Sarajevo. Her films have won more than 40 awards, have been shown at the Anthology Film Archives in New York, Cultura de Contemporiana de Barcelona and are featured in the video library of The New York Times and Aeon.
Ivana Todorović is currently working on the documentary film “Women in the Popular Front” and the script of the new short feature film “The First Time I Saw the Night”.