At the recently concluded ByzanFest in Melbourne, Australia, an international film festival dedicated to Orthodox film, the feature film A Cross in the Desert by Hadži-Aleksandr Đurović won three major awards: Divine Lantern Podcast’s Award for Best Photography, College of St Constantine’s Award for Best Director and University of Saint Katherine’s Award for Best Film.
The film was shown at the opening of the festival, and due to great interest, it had two more sold-out screenings. The festival featured films from Australia, the United States of America, Finland, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece…
Following the life of the pious young Paraskeva, through this film we get to know her journey from an ordinary girl to the most beloved and respected saint of Orthodoxy. The director guides us through 40 years of trials, deep internal struggles, but also omnipresent faith. On the one hand quite modern in the expression and rhythm of the frames, the film brings us a centuries-old story, which still lives strongly in the believers and admirers of hers. The film was shot on authentic locations in Jordan, Serbia and Romania.
This screenplay was based on the true story and bestseller “Petkan” by Ljiljana Habjanović-Đurović, and the film stars: Milena Predić, Milica Stefanović, Filip Hajduković, Jadranka Selec, Branislav Tomašević, Daniel Sič, Andrej Šepetkovski and Mladen Sovilj, as well as several Jordanian actors . A Cross in the Desert is the first Serbian-Jordanian co-production. The film was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Secretariat for Culture of AP Vojvodina, the Film Center of Serbia and the Royal Film Center of Jordan. The film was made with the blessing of the late Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej and Archbishop Amfilohije, as well as with the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.