I never believed in fairy tales until I visited Montenegro.

Maybe I shouldn't believe in fairy tales.

There's always something dark lingering beneath the surface.

But something about the landscape, the beauty, the food, the people.

I couldn't resist trying to believe that a fairy tale is possible.

["Steadee█s Back In The Groove" theme song plays] Hi!

I'm Stephanie.

The Cinema Nomad.

Join me on brand new adventures.

The world is a wonderful place where people overcome incredible odds to make their mark.

We'll meet filmmakers who are as courageous as they are inspiring.

Cinema Nomad connects across cultures to learn, exlore, share and carry on a heritage of cinematic storytelling.

[ in Montenegrin ] ♪ rock music plays ♪ ♪ you see my face on the TV ♪ ♪ you hear my voice on the radio ♪ ♪ you see my life through a magazine ♪ ♪ I█m everywhere that you go ♪ ♪ That█s what it█s like to be famous ♪ ♪ That█s what it█s like to be me ♪ Talent attracts, and Senad sahmanovic from Montenegro is an incredibly talented filmmaker.

Born in the industrial town of Berane in 1982, Senad is a serious, dedicated filmmaker who earns his bread and butter, working as a director and editor for Montenegro National Television.

Senad graduated from the the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje.

His films have screened in over 50 countries worldwide.

Senad's work spans the spectrum of shorts and features, documentaries and narratives, made for TV and cinema.

In his second feature film, "Ponton█s Heart," a heartfelt and fun romantic comedy which was also turned into a TV series, Senad got to direct the renowned actor Rade serbedzija, who many know and love from movies such as "Mission Impossible II" and "Snatch," and I geek out over his role in "Eyes Wide Shut."

In 2023, Senad's feature film "Sirin" was selected as Montenegro's official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

One thing that impressed me about Senad was his in-depth knowledge of the cinema and history of Montenegro and the region.

When viewing his films, you see a deeper sensitivity at heart.

He is articulate, passionate about his work, and extremely professional in everything he touches.

And Senad loves basketball!

And I█m fond of the San Antonio Spurs from San Antonio, Texas.

I don't know why, but... [Stephanie] And rescuing stray animals.

[Senad] Yeah, I█m so happy when I find her, because... I think she will not survive the next day, because it's a lot of dogs.

And you become connected with them, with these small animals.

And each time I'm so sad when I need to give them to someone, But you cannot have... [Stephanie] You can█t have all of them.

[Senad] You cannot afford to have twenty cats or dogs in your apartment.

When I visited his home in Podgorica, he was taking care of two rescued cats, Poki and Loki.

Senad is interested in stories of expats returning home and how they deal with their displacement, how they relate to their birth land.

He questions identity and what it means to be Montenegrin.

What were some of the films that you came across that maybe influenced you early on?

In that moment, I find some Fellini█s films, and I find some Milos Forman films, it█s something interesting and different.

I never see something like this... I remember when I was watching "Blow Up" from Antonioni... What is this?

You know, it's something you cannot explain.

And, of course, you will be well educated.

And sometimes you can... When I was in some cities, for example, I used to watch also French cinema.

When I was first time in Paris, I felt like I was, I was there before.

Even in Milan or Rome, because we watched all these films.

You understand the culture, you understand the music, you understand the fashion in that period.

And you understand the importance of the cinema.

In the local language, Montenegro is called Crna Gora.

It translates to black mountain, which is said to date back to Venetian sailors who spotted the mighty Mount Lovcen off the coast.

First recorded in charter by Serbian King Stefan Milutin in 1276.

The population of Montenegro is around 625,000.

What I encountered was a friendly people, proud of their past resistances and holding on to the idea of independence.

Life moves slowly and is enjoyed with a rakia and some homemade cheese or prosciutto in the mountains or by the seaside.

Podgorica is the capital.

The city was called Titograd during the Yugoslav years.

Each republic in Yugoslavia had a Titograd in honor of the leader Josip Broz Tito, but Montenegro was the only one who's Titograd was also their capital city.

Until right around the time of our visit, the same political party had been in office since 1990.

The Democratic Party of Socialists with consistencies and leadership stretching all the way back to 1945.

Here there's always whisperings of corruption, but what modern country doesn't have that these days?

As an independent country, Montenegro is young.

It gained its independence in 2006.

By then, Senad was already an adult.

I wonder what it feels like to live in a country that didn't exist when you were born into it.

[Stephanie] Tito broke away from Stalin, right?

Yeah.

So, like, It was your own form of a communist society but it was against Stalin?

Yugoslavia was not part of Russia and the other eastern countries.

We were not behind the Iron Curtain.

After the Second World War, he doesn't want to be part of these Russian countries.

He wanted to be independent.

So we were still socialist, but, we call it "liberal socialism."

It was not like in this you know ... We had some rights, but... We had some influence from the Western world.

So we have all films from USA, all music from Britain, from USA, all fashion, everything came.

But, that influence of the architecture, this is a similar to the other socialist countries, because... That█s the, we were part of the Slavic countries, and the architecture, and this.

[Stephanie] But Tito became kind of a folk hero, right?

[Senad] Yeah, after the World War.

[Senad] Yeah, but it was communist against capitalism.

They want to share rights to the people, because it was imperialist, or conservative things... Queen and this, and they took all the, all the things and they just give small, small amount of the money to the people just to survive.

And in one moment, it's what started the revolution.

People wanted to have the rights as other people in the normal world.

[Senad] The idea of it was interesting, but I think it's not possible to make it.

[Stephanie VO] Montenegro became the 29th member of NATO amidst some controversy.

Perhaps this controversy is due to the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, of which Montenegro was a Republic.

The Western World's attempt to stop the atrocities of the civil war then breaking up Yugoslavia.

Additionally, Montenegro has been a pawn in a tug of war between the ideological West and Russia.

NATO represents this West, and not everyone is for that.

Furthermore, Montenegro recognized Kosovo as an independent country in 2008, and it fractured their relationship with Serbia.

The majority of the population is Orthodox Christian, with a significant Muslim minority, Due to its geopolitical location, Montenegro was greatly affected from World War I and World War II and lost around 10% of their population in both world wars, and many cities were destroyed.

World War II was especially complicated, with both German and Italian occupations.

mixed with the allies bombing the area in attempts to quote "free the Balkans."

In a country that's been on the periphery of world wars for centuries and only gained its independence in 2006, can a democratic fairy tale emerge?

And how will the filmmakers use this freedom to reflect upon their world?

I want talk about some of your films more specifically but tell me, what are some of the story or themes that you are most drawn to exporing in your films?

I am always interested in personal stories.

So the "Tranquility" was about forgiveness, about optimism, some kind of optimism.

Let█s... Here is a... plenty of in the past it was a turbulent era.

So and we need to forgive each other and to go to look ahead to what will happen in the future.

So but also, many people left this country, and many people wanted to build his life somewhere else.

And, as my brother was also, he went to Germany 20 years ago.

And when he come back, he was not the same person anymore.

And, you know, I was, when I finished my faculty, I was looking for MA studies in Germany, and I was with him.

And in that moment, I was thinking, "Okay, let█s leave my MA studies," you know, I want to be with him because I saw he's so lonely.

So and, you know, then I meet Claudia and we started to talk about, she was Italian, living in Paris, in France.

And she also know very well that feeling.

And we started to work on the script.

Let's talk about people.

People who... doesn't or didn't belong, and also personal stories connected with what happened here in the past.

So the past is, it's also part of us.

If we enter in psychology, it makes us.

We are like this and this and do this.

I want to put some of my characters in that circumstances, too.

Maybe sometimes that character doesn't have a choice.

[Stephanie] What in the past affects you the most?

[Senad] When I was a teenager, it was, the war started in ex-Yugoslavia and I didn't know what's happened.

You know, in one moment you wake up and you see empty streets, empty shops, empty... What█s going on?

And someone asks you who you are.

"If you are like this, you can play with us."

And I was, I was come home and asked my parents "who we are?"

and "Who asked you?"

Why?

Because if I am, I don't remember.

Because if I'm part of this religion, I can play football with them.

You know, that's total madness.

And then its continue, each 10 or 20 years that questions are open, who you are, why you are like this?

The capital city Podgorica, has a population under 200,000.

It's a small and pleasant city, with pedestrian side streets full of cafes, bars, restaurants and boutique clothing stores.

There are old forts, the Ribinca and Moraca Rivers and the striking Millennium Bridge.

There's lots of green spaces, parks with statues of Montenegro's heroes.

And to my surprise, there was even a statue of Tito [Senad] I came here since I finished the high school, and I started to work as a waiter in one bar to earn the money to prepare my final exam for entering in the Faculty of the Dramatic Arts.

[Stephanie] How was the film school for you?

Was that... Was it a good education?

Were you're happy with your choice to go to Cetin... [Senad] Cetinje Cetinje.

I have to practice saying that.

That█s OK.

[Senad] When I succeed to enter in this school, it was a very important moment in my life and I will never forget that day.

And I was... first time you are so happy.

As you are on the good way to make something in your life that you, what you feel inside.

And when you start to go to school to study, it was not so easy, because for the first time you make something, you have to make short films.

You need to write, you need to find ideas.

And it was, I don't know, ten hours per day.

And then, some moments happened you know, I want to give up.

During the night... "Oh my God I cannot find this ideas.

Why I█m so stupid like this?

I█m not talented, I cannot resolve this problem.

I count on first of the humanity, that we are people.

And we understand each other.

And then we can solve the problems.

This job is endless learning process.

That's for everyone.

[Stephanie] So you were saying at times you felt it was too hard and you wanted to give up, "Why am I doing it?"

Kind of thing.

What kept you going?

And what keeps you going now through all the challenges?

So, there is, you know, a question about losers.

I don't want to be a loser.

I want to try.

I want to risk everything.

Even in that moment, you think your problems are the highest in this world.

But, you know... It's so easy to give up.

I love to be believer, to believe in something, even if it's not possible.

But let's try.

If we cannot succeed, if we give all from our heart, or all of our energy, the results will come and we will satisfy, because we give from us everything what we can.

It's a race, it's a running, it's a marathon!

Yeah.

I can relate to all that.

[Stephanie and Senad laugh] Cheers!

[bottles clincking] [ in Montenegrin ] One of Senad's first short narrative films, "The Writing Machine," is a nice look into the talents that follow.

The story is set at a local newspaper where the protagonist journalist buys anonymous works from a mysterious man who tracks him down and then prints them under his own byline, only to pay this man the majority of the money he earns.

So what does our hero gain?

"The Writing Machine" asks the questions many writers ask of themselves.

Why do we write?

Is it for money or for fame?

Or is it the story that matters?

What do we sacrifice in order to create?

How to develop this story and which decision I made, because I wanted to make it in a big city such as Belgrade.

Because you know, it has to be in style, you know, not in this 21st century, but it will happen between the 20th and 21st century.

In one specific... specific period.

Specific locations.

Specific... ... style.

And you know, and I find some good location in Belgrade, but we didn█t have enough money.

And I decided, let's make this film here in Podgorica.

The art design on your film is very nice.

And I would like to have more spaces like this.

But in Podgorica we don't have history like this, this is a young city.

Because I was surprised when I saw the bar scene where they hang out at the bar, it seems so cosmopolitan.

Yeah.

And I wondered if that was Podgorica or not.

Yeah it was, and you know the newspaper or television, I would like, you remember in films like "Network," you know the big... something like this.

And it gives authenticity to the story.

This one is small.

It is a real newspaper.

But it's too small.

It's not for filmmaking.

But we had to make this film there.

Upon my arrival to Podgorica Senad took me on a walk through his city.

He took me to his favorite park where people walk, bike, run and walk their dogs.

He spoke to me about the importance of staying physically fit for a film director, and how walking through nature helps him clear his mind when he's directing.

After the park, he took me to a cultural space co run by the American Corner, which has a cinema and a stage.

He then showed me the Film Archive Center where they are digitizing old film reels.

On the walls are framed photos of stills from historical Montenegrin films.

I just love these things.

Senad took me to another small park with a castle that King Nikola built for his son.

At his apartment in Podgorica, Senad cooked up a lovely and delicious lunch as we continued to chat about all things life and cinema.

I never prepared meals in front of the camera.

That was the first time, like in TV shows.

You know, in the television, they prepare, "Oh, I put in salt and pepper."

"Did you buy this?

And this?"

And this meal is basic, but sometimes I prepare vegetables with this, it depends.

Black pepper, red pepper, white pepper, It's good and tasty.

I like it a little bit spicy.

Not too much, but just.

It's a challenge to prepare burgers for Americans, because they are famous for them.

Double burger, huh?

[Stephanie ] Sure We prepare double.

That's me.

You want basic, no thanks!

It's challenging to discuss film history in Montenegro, because most of the cinema history stems from the former Yugoslavia, which spans six constituent Republics and two autonomous regions.

And the Yugoslav film industry was primarily based in Serbia.

Many of the filmmakers who originated from Montenegro ended up becoming cinema icons of neighboring countries.

One of the most important filmmakers from Montenegro is Veljko Bulajic, known for his World War II era Partizan films, though he was based in Croatia.

"The Man to Destroy" is the only film that he set in his native Montenegro.

Likewise, Krsto Papic a Croatian born in Montenegro, was a leader of the Yugoslav New Wave and is considered a 1960s cultural icon of Croatia and was active in the Croatian Spring political movement of the early 70s.

In 1961, the Montenegrin-Croatian filmmaker and animator Dusan Vukotic made history when he became the first filmmaker from Yugoslavia to win an Oscar.

He was the first non-American to win for Best Animated Short, beating out Walt Disney for his surrealist film "Surogat."

[film clip in Montenegrin] Dusan spent most of his career in Croatia, and he was a founding member of Zagreb Film.

Senad made a beautiful documentary about the life and work of Dusan Vukotic, called "Vud, You Won!"

Analyzing his legacy in Yugoslav cinema history and delicately portraying the cross-sections between art and politics.

I really enjoyed delving into the history of Yugoslav cinema and discovered a few key Yugoslav films that were shot in Montenegro, including the quirky "Beauty of Vice."

Set in a Montenegro nudist colony, about the culture-clash between mountain villagers and foreign vacationers.

It's a hoot.

It can also be challenging to talk about the cinema history of Montenegro and many of the other countries in this region, for that matter, because the modern versions of these independent countries are quite young.

Montenegro only gained its independence in 2006.

It is still forming its cinema industry, and filmmakers in Montenegro often have to rely on co-productions, especially with other Balkan countries.

As a result, filmmakers such as Senad have to forge their own paths and form their own visual language, distinct to their generation█s Montenegro.

[ in Montenegrin ] [ in Montenegrin ] Hello.

Can I have a large popcorn?

Guest from USA.

They like, they love the popcorns.

[Stephanie: "Hvala"] Thank you You learn some words in Montenegrin.

[Stephanie] I try... it█s very hard.

But it's a very difficult language.

[Stephanie] Zdravo... Dobar dan... [giggling] Can you tell me about what your childhood was like growing up?

Ah, it was... It was difficult, but it was in one moment also, it was beautiful.

I remember... I was born in 1982.

I was 8-years-old when the... I'm a huge fan of sports.

‘90s was the World Cup in Italy, and it was... We were Yugoslavia and we played, we were good team.

We played in the quarterfinal against Argentina, Maradona's Argentina.

And they beat us on penalties.

And I remember that moment.

And I'm always... looking for the good moments.

What happened?

I'm choosing this moment in my memory and I push the bad memories: "Go outside.

I don█t need you!"

And for my childhood, I just disconnected.

Even though we were not... We missed a lot of things, that was not so easy when we had this, I don't know how to translate it: embargo.

You know, sanctions.

Because of the of the regime of this.

And it was... You want films, games, you want as other children in the world have.

We didn't have war here, but we were surrounded by the war.

And you never know when the... when the war will start in your city or country, and what you will do.

You don█t know!

Did you feel like you forced to kinda grow up faster because of that?

In that moment?

Yes.

In that moment.

But in some moments you are not aware of it.

You still believe, if it... it will finish this summer.

I will go to school, and you didn't know about your parents struggling.

In one moment, it was a huge inflation.

Everyone was a millionaire.

But, you know, with this millions of dinars, you can buy one German mark.

Or one U.S.

dollar.

That█s also what I remember.

But, we have... many people were outside working in the USA or Western Europe, and they helped the people here.

For somebody, if you're comfortable talking about this, for somebody who might not know a lot, can you give us a brief background on the the war and what was happening and why?

You know, it was always the war happened in Yugoslavia through the history, things happened.

We had the First World War, which also started in Yugoslavia in Bosnia.

That guy killed the prince of Austria-Hungary.

And then after thirty years, also another war.

I cannot find reasons for what happened.

But the politicians and people believes what politicians say.

It was propaganda, you know, through the newspaper, and the propaganda, which aims to make the people hate each other, to hate his neighbors.

That kind of propaganda.

You know, it was also in Tito's period.

They made... films about Partizan we call it.

You know, I told you yesterday, we call them "Eastern".

Big fights, big glories in WWII, against Fascists.

They wanted to make a difference between good guys and bad guys.

And as I mentioned before, we were on the good side of the history.

It was not a period when you can criticize the government, but some filmmakers decided to criticize and we have some forbidden films, this Yugoslavian Black Wave.

Someone wanted to say "it's a fake."

You see behind all of these shiny things, behind it, the workers are unemployed or cannot survive.

Don█t have the same rights.

And another people and etc.

etc.

And it was like this, but still it was a good period.

And then beginning of ‘90s, we started to make films on other topics, but more patriotic.

And still now, in some countries because people are believing what you serve them, they believe!

Especially about these patriotic things.

There is no... I think we need more education to understand our community, and our society.

But people just see something on the television and that is it.

That is the only truth, and especially in this moment on YouTube, on, social media, on this, you have some guys who can realize they find the audience for this.

It's the same situation with the films.

If the government has an idea of how to manipulate you, the people, they make these films, patriotic films.

Yeah.

So I started watching, "Cinema Komunisto," [ in Montenegrin ] It was interesting to see how involved Tito was in the filmmaking, in that it showed him like actually reading scripts and making his own notes on it.

In that period, I'm also reading about it.

It was a Commission, who watched the films and decide to forbid this film, because this guy says bad things about our president and... That's totally madness!

And now I... maybe I can show you in my film that guys told me, we saw some things... like in North Korea, people are... doing up close because of the President, this believing in one guy.

It's madness!

Maybe the society was good, but, it also has some problems with this.

[ in Montenegrin ] Even in that period we were respected in the world.

Our president came in USA with Kennedy.

They speak.

Now we are separated and no one cares about us.

Unfortunately.

If we talk about politics.

So did the war change how filmmakers were approaching, like, what types of films they were making?

You know, what was interesting... We also had stories with topics of the war, especially from the countries (directly involved in the war).

If someone... I think if someone receives films, festival selectors, They can expect...they know what he will expect from ex-Yugoslavia.

It is the war topic.

And this and this.

And we were, in one moment, tired of these war stories.

We would like to share with the world other stories, our love stories, or other love problems, without war, to avoid all these stereotypes.

But sometimes, you know, you cannot avoid yourself because even if someone you know, for me, I want to share my stories.

And if I'm looking in inspiration behind my own experience.

It's like this because our society, our neighbor, is like this.

You know, in Romania, after the fall of Ceausescu the filmmakers started making film after film after film, about the communist years, and the Ceausescu years and just the devastation of it.

And the audiences in Romania didn't want to watch the films.

The Romanians were sick of it.

They lived through it and they didn't want to see that, to go to the movies.

But maybe also it's other, we have some authors or film directors from Montenegro who used to speak about society paradoxes, and some people don█t want to see the mirror.

They are angry to see, because they believe we are so beautiful.

But, sometimes you're not beautiful.

There's something about Senad that tugs at my heart strings.

When I hear him talking about his childhood, the war, his desires for a stronger democracy in his own country, I'm really drawn in.

There's something that compels me to want to know more, to want to dig deeper into his soul, find out who he is and where he comes from.

I feel that, especially in his film work, The stories he directs are often a glimpse into a person, a community, a place in his native Montenegro.

We get access to worlds that we don't normally see on film, yet we feel a universal appeal towards the lives and emotions of the characters he shares with us.

Senad's thesis short film was "Tranquility of Blood," which played in over 50 festivals around the world, from Finland to South Korea.

"Tranquilly of Blood" was nominated for many awards, including in Odense, Tehran, Aberdeen, Tangier and it won the Grand Prix Best Short Film prize at the Drama Film Festival in Greece.

"Tranquility Of Blood" is an understated, beautifully shot film All we know is that an older gentleman fakes his own death, only to attempt to kill the neighbor█s son, who returns home after being in hiding for a decade.

Presumably he returns because he thinks it safe to, now that the neighbor is dead.

Though we don█t know what the young man did to warrant revenge from the old man, we feel the stark emotions of this moment.

The film addresses themes of sin and forgiveness, tradition versus modernity.

Revenge versus justice.

Is there a difference?

"Tranquility of Blood" was shot around Cetinje and Mount Lovcen, and he uses the landscape very well.

There's very little dialogue in this film, but when we hear it, it is spoken like true poetry.

[ in Montenegrin ] I visited Cetinje, where Senad spent his university years.

The city is known as a royal capital and a museum city in the valley of the Lovcen mountains.

I quite like Cetinje, with its matching houses and orange roofs.

I visited the Natural History Museum, Billiards, the King Nikola House Museum, art museum and ethnographic museum.

From the History Museum, I picked up a few tidbits of cinema history.

The first Montenegrin film was created in 1922, "There Is No Resurrection Without Death."

It also mentioned a documentary film about the Mountain Durmitor, filmed in 1930.

The museum mentioned a Cetinje based film production company set up in March of 1949 called Lovcen Films, which produced 119 shorts and 15 features.

I took a drive up Mount Lovcen for the big views, as legend has it, George Bernard Shaw exclaimed, "Am I in Paradise or on the moon It looks like the moon to me.

Montenegro is unique in that it has mostly managed to maintain its autonomy despite centuries of shifting dynasties, occupations and wars.

The mountains have been a sort of protector, along with the will of the strong and determined people to retain their homeland, heritage and independent spirit.

Modern Montenegrin Statehood can be traced back at least to the Medieval ages, with the State of Duklja, who broke away from the Byzantines and ruled independently, and later the Zeta Dynasty.

The Ottomans occupied the region and the celebrated Prince Petar II Petrovic Njegos fought the Ottomans, promoted modernization and wrote and epic poem, "The Mountain Wreath," still a source of literary pride today.

In 1878, Montenegro was formally recognized as an independent sovereign state which ceased to exist in 1918.

After World War I, Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

In 1929, this was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Following World War II, Montenegro was integrated into the Socialist Federalist Republic of Yugoslavia.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Montenegro and Serbia formed a loose-state-union until Montenegro's official independence in 2006.

Out of your films that you've directed, do you have one that you're most proud of?

If I count from this position each film has his own value.

Because I'm, in that moment, I was two-years-old, but maybe two-years-old as a filmmaker, and then I'm six and ten, and... you know, there is, I count it like growing.

[ in Montenegrin ] I am so happy with this "Tranquility," because it was a small amount of money, and that decision, what I made for this film, was, you know, it was part of the luck and some feelings.

Sometimes you cannot explain, because it was not scripted like this.

It was a bigger script than this.

And we decided to start from this moment, to make it more interesting.

When I hear Senad talk about his films and his filmmaking journey, I reflect a lot on my own.

And how emotionally challenging sometimes the act of creation can be.

I remember the very first film I directed.

I put so much of my heart and soul, blood, sweat, tears, time and talents into this.

I remember the emotional release after I wrapped the shooting of this film.

I couldn't handle the emotions.

It was so intense.

I felt like I had just birthed a child and put it out there in the world for the rest of the world to view and see and make their own and, you know, judge and praise and all the things that one does with a child in the world.

And I'm constantly reminded of Roland Barthes, the French theorist who had this essay about the death of the author.

It's like when the creation is born, the author dies because it becomes the interpretation of everyone who consumes it.

Everyone who views it, watches it, screens it, they are now their own authors, putting their own thoughts, dreams, desires, and interpretations onto your work.

So once I birthed the film, it's no longer fully my own.

It's out there in the world, and that's an incredibly emotional release for a young, creative person to deal with.

And as we grow older, we mature a little bit in the process after we birth our second, third, fourth child.

We understand the parenting of it better, but those first ones are especially hard to let go of.

[ off microphone ] It█s weird having that in my face.

I, um... I also consider my films like my children.

I don█t personally expect to ever have children.

And part of it is because so much of my creative work is my "offspring."

{off camera} OK We█re rolling {off camera film slate claps} {off camera} OK Um, so, is that, do you want a family?

Do you want to settle down, quote-unquote, ever?

After the film, is it possible to think about it?

Maybe.

My main goal was to finish these two projects, two films, and then... I will see.

That's my plan.

But... There█s one sentence here: "We make plans and God is laughing."

So we never know.

That was, you know, even if I'm an artist.

But there is something maybe destiny laughing or something that we never know what will happen next.

[ in Montenegrin ] Senads feature debut narrative film "Sirin," co-written with Claudia Bertino, is an exquisite look at an estate lawyer who returns to her homeland in Montenegro after remaining in the U.S.

for nearly two decades.

On the surface, she appears cold hearted, hardened but exploring her native home after all these years, speaking her language again, interacting with the locals, drinking rakia, she begins to soften and rekindles a long lost bond with her sister and nieces.

This movie is directed with a sensitivity to its characters and locations not often seen in a feature debut.

The movie brings up feelings of displacement.

It's interesting because Natalie, which we come to learn, is not her given Montenegrin name.

She's from here yet feels like a complete outsider.

The movie questions what is home?

What's home when I've been living abroad for so long.

Where do I belong?

[ in Montenegrin ] I enjoy traveling around Montenegro's landscapes to seek out locations of films shot here.

The Bay of Kotor and its surrounding villages is in one word, idyllic.

Old medieval stone palaces turned into modern villas and rentals, lots of little docks and small boats to go across the bay.

Kids ride bikes and roller skate.

Snow covered mountains in the distance peek out through misty clouds.

In Kotor, churches lurch around the bend, old medieval castles and forts have been turned into guest houses in the locals homes.

One day I hiked to the top of the Saint John Mountain, where the old Kotor fortifications lie.

Views from the top are spectacular of the old town below and neighboring villages.

Foreign movies were shot around Kotor.

In Ralph Fiennes 2011 Shakespeare adaptation "Coriolanus," the town of Antietam was filmed in Kotor, while the rest of the movie was shot in Serbia.

Interestingly, there is a film called "The Dark Side of the Sun" which was initially filmed in 1988 but never released due to the tensions and civil wars within Yugoslavia.

The majority of this film was shot in Kotor.

"The Dark Side of the Sun" stars a young Brad Pitt.

For frame of reference, Brad Pitt appeared in "Thelma and Louise" three years later in 1991.

"The Dark Side of the Sun" was directed by the Serbian and Montenegrin filmmaker of Bozidar 'Bota' Nikolic, who also made "Balkan Spy" "Three Tickets to Hollywood" "In The Name of Father and Son" and "Balkan Brother."

"The Dark Side of the Sun" was finally released in 1997.

Straight to video.

Nine years after they shot it and after Pitt had become very famous.

I continued around the coast to the gorgeous small town of Perast, where some scenes from "The Brothers Bloom" and "The November Man," a 2014 spy action thriller starring Pierce Brosnan, were shot.

This charming town was used as a double for Lucerne, Switzerland.

The main attractions in Perast are two small islands right off the bay.

Our Lady of the Rocks is a man-made island with a small church and museum attached.

According to legend, in 1452 two fisherman brothers discovered an image of the Virgin Mary here and a small chapel was built on site.

Another stop took us to the beautiful beach town of Budva to see the Budva Bell, a huge landmark prop in the 1964 movie directed by Jack Cardiff, "The Long Ships."

I recommend seeing Budva much more than I do this movie.

My next destination was the city of Herceg Novi also used in "The November Man."

One of the first scenes in the film takes place in this quaint town square.

Herceg Novi is home to Montenegro's biggest film festival, with screenings taking place in old medieval forts, prisons and castles.

In nearby Lustica, the 2016 dramedy film "The Black Pin" was shot.

Another nice debut by this rising generation of Montenegrin directors to emerge.

"The Black Pin" also tackles the themes of tradition versus modernity in a remote village.

[ in Montenegrin ] Senad's 2018 short narrative, "The Road" is my favorite of his ever impressive portfolio.

Similar in tone to "Tranquilly of Blood" as the dialog is minimal.

"The Road" is a slow, quiet piece, reflective.

Sticking to similar themes of displacement and connection to your homeland, as in "Sirin."

"The Road" is about an older man who returns home after living abroad for a long time.

It's the story of a man on a road trip, revisiting spots he used to know, which have since changed in some ways from his memory.

By the end, he reunites with his family, and it's a touching, understated story that fills me with gooey emotions every time I view it [ in Montenegrin ] You explore alot the theme of people returning home, here to Montenegro, or in general, and so why stay?

What kept you staying in Montenegro to be a filmmaker.

What I wanted from life is to make films, and to find possibility to make films.

So here, maybe I cannot earn the money like in some Western countries, but I have other benefits.

It's not competitive like in other countries.

And I established myself here, my name.

People know me.

I love this country.

So what is your hope for the future of Montenegro?

I hope this turbulent period will end because, for the first time in 30 years, we changed the politicians, the government.

So it's good to change.

But also it's not good to change with the... to the bad.

But the change happened.

So I believe in the future, the change will be more often.

If someone does something bad, let's try to change him.

Let's believe in democracy.

And what is good, I would like to have society like in USA that we can that the President can be just a maximum of eight years.

What I want to say is: We want to be on the right side of history.

I believe this society can... Now I sound like a politician, but I believe in those values.

It's not possible to change the mind through the night.

And I believe, I'm always an optimist and I believe that we will have that moment when we can respect much more science, and art, and the qualities.

We will not ask, "Who is he?

Who is she?"

Which colors we are, what is our sexual preference or something like this?

We will just believe in the quality of the people.

I think it's possible.

And yes.

Beautiful, beautiful.

People always ask what my favorite country is to travel to.

And while I find this an impossible question to answer, Montenegro often falls within my top ten.

It is beautiful, easygoing, and the people are fun and friendly.

And while fairy tales may only exist in movies or storybooks, there is real promise for Montenegro's future as an independent democracy.

and while Senad may not be a politician per se, his stories do matter.

In charting a course for what present day Montenegrin society identifies with.

For some reason, while exploring Montenegro for Cinema Nomad and experiencing a connection with Senad in his film work, I find myself in deeper reflection than usual about my own journeys, and I have this deep desire to continue to evolve my personal life and work to explore new ideas and stories.

It's exciting to be inspired to push yourself to new heights creatively, intellectually and personally.

May Senad continue to inspire himself, his compatriots and the world over as he forges new paths in cinematic storytelling.

To learn more about the Cinema Nomad Filmmakers and dive deeper into the exciting world of global cinema, visit our website, Cinema Nomad.TV [footsteps across map] Steedee On [film slate claps] [ reindeer bells ]