Set in Croatia at the turn of the 19th century, the story follows a woman, Teresa, who arrives from distant Chile to a strictly organized and isolated mountain shepherd community. She claims to be the widow of their oldest brother, who left them years ago in search of a better life. Her arrival upsets the hierarchical family relationships, and her otherness quickly sparks discord in the clan, whose distrust of the unknown brings to light deeply buried tensions.

Director Hana Jušić has returned with an even more complex second film after her festival-favorite debut. Her beautifully lensed, darkly toned feminist tale is as elaborate in form as it is daring in its genre experimentation as a costume thriller-eastern mixed with ethnographic motifs. She combines the monumental scenery of the Croatian mountains with sensitive acting, evoking the works of filmmakers such as Jane Campion or Terrence Malick. Its slowly building storytelling, with its electronic music background, is able to create a trance-like atmosphere, and actresses Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselčić provide captivating performances in the film's two key female roles, for which they jointly won the Best Performance award at this year's Locarno Film Festival.

Locarno Film Festival 2025 - Best Actress Award
Sarajevo Film Festival 2025 - Special Award

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Born in 1983; obtained her MA degree in Film and TV Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She previously graduated in Comparative Literature and English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2007, and enrolled in the Postgraduate Doctor’s Study of Literature and Film. She has written and directed several short films before directing her feature film debut, Quit Staring at My Plate in 2016, a Croatian-Danish co-production supported by Eurimages.

The film premiered at Venice Days 2016, after which it traveled to over a hundred festivals. It received over thirty awards including: FEDEORA for Best European Film at Venice Days, Best Director Award at Tokyo International Film Festival, Grand Prix at Crossing Europe Festival in Linz, Best Feature Film Award at Seminci in Valladolid, Best Actress Award at Vilnius International Film Festival, among others. Besides Quit Staring at My Plate, her screenwriting credits include two feature films and the TV series The Last Socialist Artefact (2021) that she co-wrote with two other writers. The series premiered at Series Mania, winning the Best Series Award in the Panorama program.

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Quit Staring at My Plate (2016)

Original title: Bog Neće Pomoći
Director: Hana Jušić
Cast: Manuela Martelli, Ana Marija Veselčić, Filip Đurić, Mauro Ercegović Gracin, Nikša Butijer
Cinematography: Jana Plećaš
Screenwriter: Hana Jušić
Producer: Ada Solomon & Diana Caravia, Ines Vasiljević & Stefano Sardo, Yorgos Tsourgiannis, Didar Domehri, Aleš Pavlin & Andrej Štritof
Editor: Jan Klemsche
Music: Iris Asimakopoulou, Vasilis Chontos, Stavros Evangelou
Hungarian Distributor: -
Colour: colour
Run time: 137 mins

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