24/05/2010 10:13

“Besa” within National Class selection

Within National Class selection in out of the competition programme, festival visitors will have a chance to see Srdjan Karanovic’s new achievement “Besa”. Karanovic is signed both as a director and a screenwriter.

“Besa” is a love story based on true events. The narrative is set during World War I. A young Serbian teacher Philip moves into a small Serbian province to start working as a teacher. He comes with his wife Lea, whom he met during his studies in Western Europe He doesn’t succeed in getting a position of a high school principal since war breaks out and he goes to join the military. He leaves his young and beautiful wife under the care of Azem, a patriarchal and illiterate Albanian who works as a school custodian. Azem gives Philip his solemn oath, “besa” (in Albanian tradition “besa” is a solemn oath that must be kept no matter what) that he will look after Lea and see to it that nothing happens to her. Two people of entirely different religious and cultural upbringing are forced to cohabitate in an abandoned school while the war keeps raging in the background. Their relationship evolves from hatred and misunderstanding until it becomes not just mere tolerance but a unique friendship that gradually grows into a form of a love connection, which is considered forbidden on so many levels. Unexpected feelings of love between Lea and Azem will bring into light numerous dilemmas and question the moral codex of “besa”, a promise one must keep even at the price of one’s own life.

“Besa” is a co-production of seven production companies from Serbia, Slovenia, France, Hungary and Croatia. Chief producer is Film House Bas Celik. Srdjan Karanovic also directed “Petrija’s Wreath”, “Virgina”, “Fragrance of Wild Flowers”, “Something in Between”, “A Film with No Name”, “Loving Glances”… He made several TV films, while his most notable television achievement to date is his cult classic TV show “Grlom u jagode”.