Growing up in a family without men, I was shaped by two currents: the strong presence of women and the absence left by men who had "vanished" into the Mariana Trench. With this project, I explore precisely that narrative of absence. I begin with my familiar Adriatic female heritage and gradually confront the trench carved within us by the island’s male half—men who largely disappeared in the Pacific.

About the director

Sara Jurinčić is a film director, architect and artist from Zadar, currently living and working between Zagreb and Copenhagen. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb in 2015, with additional programmes at the Academy of Dramatic Art and the Academy of Fine Arts, and completed Restart’s Documentary Film School in 2017. Her experimental documentary short Valerija has received 13 international awards to date, including the Heart of Sarajevo, a European Film Award nomination at ZINEBI, Grand Prix at the International Film Festival of Rabat, 25FPS and the Florence Film Festival, as well as the “Dokumentar” Award, among others. The film has been screened at more than 50 international film festivals. Since 2018, she has founded Nomad Studio and Void Lab, artistic and spatial laboratories. She has participated in talent programmes at several A-list festivals and industry platforms, including CPH:DOX, IDFA, DOK Leipzig, Sarajevo Talents and EW Talent Lab. Her debut short film 3. rujna 2015. received several awards and was screened at more than 40 international film festivals, with its international premiere at the 2019 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. She is currently developing her debut feature film Brazda and a new short film Zatvaranje.

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