Milica Tomovic on Sarajevo Industry Prizewinner ‘Big Women’ and Why Audiences Are Afraid of ‘Bad’ Women ‘Who Do Bad Things’
variety.comChristopher Vourlias Serbian filmmaker Milica Tomović, whose sophomore feature, “Big Women,” was one of the big winners at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry awards on Thursday, thinks audiences are afraid of women behaving badly. “People are not that interested to watch movies with bad female characters who do bad things,” the director told Variety. “Big Women,” which is produced by Dragana Jovović of Non-Aligned Films and Jelena Radenković for Big Time Production, won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award in Sarajevo.
The film is pitched as a road-trip dramedy that follows two wild women who embark on an unexpected trip to the coast of Montenegro.
There they’ll settle forgotten bills, rediscover their friendship and uncover long-buried secrets. Describing the film as “a character-based story,” Tomović said it’s “based on the dynamics of this very strong friendship.” “This is the center of the story, between Mira and Tina,” she said of the best friends and beauticians at the heart of “Big Women.” “It’s a journey — of the two of them and of their friendship.” The director’s critically praised first feature, “Celts,” centers on a child’s birthday party that spirals out of control and exposes the fractures in her extended family.
But Tomović said she’s equally drawn to “non-DNA connections” — the families we choose, rather than the ones we’re born into. “You got connected with the first cigarette that you tried, exchanging clothes, suffering and giving advice,” she said. “And then gradually, you become [the close-knit friends] that we see in the movie.” “Celts” premiered at the pandemic edition of the Berlin Film Festival in 2021.
Read more on variety.com