The Selection Committee composed of Dobrivoje Tanasijević – Dan Tana (member of the American Academy of Film Arts and Sciences, member of the commission proposed by FCS) Miroslav Lekić (on behalf of the Association of Film Artists of Serbia), Dr Ivana Kronja and Tanja Bošković (proposed by AFUN), Sandra Perović (on behalf of the FCS Board of Directors), Dara Džokić (on behalf of the Association of Film Actors of Serbia) and Dejan Lutkić (proposed by FCS), chose the film Dara from Jasenovac, directed by Predrag Antonijević as Serbia’s representative at the 93rd Academy Awards – Oscars for the International Feature Film Award).
Below is the Selection Committee’s explanation:
“The commission expresses great satisfaction, because this year we had an extremely high-quality, genre-diverse film offer.
The selected film Dara from Jasenovac is an emotionally strong drama that deals with historical trauma, offering above all respect for the victims. The theme is extremely significant, painful and traumatic, with the film avoiding the trap of reawakening the ghosts of the past because it is not placed in political discourse. The tragic circumstances are not presented in the context of a general crime, but the tragedy is personalized. The crime has its own name and surname, so the film does not deal with numbers and general places, but with individual destinies, thus creating a very suggestive picture of the tragedy. It took great courage of the entire team to deal with such a delicate topic.
The members of the commission emphasize the high artistic quality of the film, excellent directing, sharp script, photography that contributes to the visual poetics of the film, music, scenography and costume, as well as expressive acting achieved by the ensemble cast (especially when it comes to female characters). Through the destiny of entire families, the strength of will of a small man is shown, as well as the enormous love and humanity that shine through in circumstances that are difficult to imagine.
Appreciating above all the quality of the film, and having in mind the importance of the topic it deals with, the commission is very pleased to choose the film Dara from Jasenovac as a Serbian candidate for the Oscar.