Emilija Gašić’s folk horror “Wolf Days” and Filip Mojzeš’ family drama “The First Week of August” won the top prizes in the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Industry Days, the industry section focused on projects in different stages of development from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Gašić’s sophomore feature, which is produced by Serbia’s Non-Aligned Films and co-produced by Istok Films and Restart, won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, a cash prize of €20,000 ($23,000).
The film follows a woman facing menopause who turns to a folk healer who draws her into a series of increasingly ridiculous rituals, driving her to the edge of madness in search of her own liberation. Gašić’s first feature, “78 Days,” premiered in the Bright Futures section of the Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam.
In a director’s statement provided to Variety, Gašić said: “‘Wolf Days’ is inspired by my encounters with many women who have been misdiagnosed, dismissed and misunderstood within a deeply patriarchal healthcare system. This film seeks to uncover and challenge the taboos surrounding women’s health, especially menopause, and to expose the power imbalances that define both medical and personal relationships.”
