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The Serbian premiere of the film “78 Days” by Emilija Gašić at the 31st Palić

18.07.2024.

The feature film 78 Days directed by Emilija Gašić will have its Serbian premiere on July 25 at 9 p.m. at the Summer Stage in Palić, as part of the Official Selection program of the 31st European Film Festival Palić. The film takes place in a small town in Serbia in March, 1999. After their father leaves for the army, sisters Sonja (17) and Dragana (15) start a video diary. Days pass as they record the peaceful nature around them, the trembling night sky during air raids and the teasing of their seven-year-old sister, Tiana. Things change when a mysterious boy and his shy, younger sister arrive from Belgrade and move into the neighbor's house. Soon, new friendships, first kisses and first disappointments replace the fear of bombs.

Regarding the Serbian premiere of her film, Emilija Gašić said: "I am thrilled that my first feature film, 78 Days, will finally have its domestic premiere after numerous international festivals. So far, I’ve only had the chance to meet our audience in the diaspora. They loved the film and always asked the same question: When will it be screened in Serbia? I am particularly pleased that this premiere is taking place at the European Film Festival Palić, known for its tradition of presenting a very good and high-quality film program. It is a great honor to be in the program together with Yorgos Lanthimos".

Speaking about the film itself, Emilija Gašić added: "I started working on the script in 2020, although I must have had the idea for ten years. The film was inspired by my family’s tapes from the nineties, but while writing the script the idea grew deeper, and during the writing I started an anonymous lexicon where people generously shared their memories of the bombing. Since the film revolves around the concept of discovering and watching a family tape after many years, it was both fascinating and challenging to work on. We recorded everything using old technology, specifically the Hi-8 format, so some of the footage was actually filmed by the actors themselves".

The script for the film was written by director Emilija Gašić, and the cast includes Viktorija Vasiljević, Milica Gicić, Tamara Gajović, Pavle Čemerikić, Maša Ćirović, Jelena Đokić, and Goran Bogdan.

Emilija Gašić is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer, born in Serbia and currently living in New York. She got her BA in film directing at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade, and her MA in cinematography at New York University and the Tisch School of the Arts in New York. Her short films have toured the world at various international film festivals. She made the script for her debut film 78 Days as part of the program at the Venice Biennale 2020 (Venice Biennale College of Cinema). As a cinematographer, Emilia made films in the USA, France, Norway and the Czech Republic. She has won the Nikon Storyteller Award and was a finalist for the Volker Bahnemann Award for Achievement in Cinematography. Her feature film You Can Stay Here If You Want (directed by Sarah Rosen) premiered online on the Film Shortage platform. Lost Beyond the Stars (directed by Kayla Arend) was screened in Los Angeles at the LA Shorts Festival, then at the St Louis International Film Fest, CineQuest and many other festivals.

The 31st European Film Festival Palić will be held from July 20 to 26, 2024, in Palić and Subotica. At this year’s edition of the festival, the audience will have the opportunity to watch 150 films divided into 17 sections, and over a hundred film professionals from the country and abroad, who will be staying in Palić, will participate in the festival program. The Palić European Film Festival has been supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, the City of Subotica, the European Union through the Creative Europe MEDIA program, as well as numerous friends and media partners.

Gorky List has been a sponsor and supporter of the European Film Festival Palić for more than 20 years, both as an indispensable part of our artistic scenography and a partner that encourages the audience to delve into the experiences of the showcased films through the Gorky List Audience Award.