Original title: Sveta Petka - Krst u pustinji
English title: A Cross in the desert
Spoken languages: serbian, arabic
Subtitles: serbian, arabic, english, russian, italian
Genre: feature fiction / spiritual biopic drama
Duration: 123 min
Color: colour
Format: DCP
Resolution: 4k
Apect ration: cinemascope 2.39:1
Frames: 25fps
Sound: dolby 7.1 / 5.1
Premiere: 2022
Trailer: A Cross in the desert (2022) - International Trailer - YouTube
Production companies: Aleksandrija Film (Belgrade, Serbia), Jordan Pioneers (Amman, Jordan)
Executive producer: Milovan Djurovic
Co-producer: Khaled Haddad
Line producer: Tala Olabi
Director: Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic
Screenwriters: Ljiljana Habjanovic Djurovic (based on novel), Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic
Directors of photography: Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic, Bojan Rakic (segment), Shafiq Olabi (2nd unit)
Editor: Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic
Production designers: Kiril Spaseski, Ayoub Nahhas
Costume designers: Stefan Savkovic, Reham Ejjeh
Composer: Ana Krstajic
Sound recordist: Ivan Bulbuk
Sound designer: Sasa Mirosavljevic-Don
Sound mixer and supervisor: Roland Vajs
Vfx supervisor: Nebojsa Rogic
Cast:
Milena Predic (Saint Paraskeva), Milica Stefanovic (Demon), Mariam Amer (Zaineb), Samaia Amareen (Little Zaineb), Filip Hajdukovic (Angel), Abdelrahman Barakat (Hermit), Moataz Abu Al-Ganam (Zainab`s husband), Jana Todorovic (Little Paraskeva), Andrej Sepetkovski (George), Daniel Sic (brother Euphtymius), Branislav Tomasevic (Prince), Jadranka Selec (Paraskeva`s mother)
LOGLINE
Pious girl Paraskeva spent 40 years of her life in desert fighting temptations, sins and inner demons.
SYNOPSIS
Pious girl Paraskeva, leaves her life in city of Constantinopole and after pilgrimage to Jerusalem, spends next 40 years in Jordan desert, fighting sins, temptations and inner demons. We follow her path from an ordinary girl to one of the most beloved female Saints in Christianity that is celebrate today.
Beside lead story, we see relations between christians and muslims in 10th century. Side story shows us how two women (beduin arab girl Zaineb and Paraskeva) from different cultural, social and religious backgrounds share same human emotions, values, love and friendship with their pure hearts. Zaineb is her only friend during time in desert, also her mirror and reflection of the outside world. It is a story about how people can overcome own weaknesses. Topics of film are universal moral questions of mankind, and that makes it relevant today anywhere in the world.
This unique, auteur, poetic and spiritual film is cinematic experience of sound and images and that is one of the reasons why we think it is perfect for festivals that still values such arthouse independent productions.
PRODUCTION NOTES
Film is based on the bestselling novel "Petkana" (2001), by the most read serbian writer Ljiljana Habjanovic Djurovic, whose novels were also translated and published worldwide. This film is first ever serbian-jordanian co-production (shot mostly in Jordan, than Serbia and Romania). Production started in 2018, but due to COVID-19 its finished in 2022. Project was supported by Government of Serbia - Ministry of Culture of Serbia, Film Center Serbia and RoyalFilm Center from Jordan. It is co-produced in association with production house Jordan Pioneers. This is second feature film by director Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic, and his first feature film as cinematographer.
FILM SO FAR
- It had more than 101.000 theatrical admissions.
- It was in selection of 62 festivals and won 31 awards so far.
- It was one of the most successfull serbian films in 2022./2023.
- Film was screened on European film week in Helsinki in 2023.
- Represented Serbia at International Francophonie Days 2024 in Belgium, Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Korea, Tunisia and Armenia
FESTIVALS and AWARDS
- 44th Moscow Film Festival - world premiere
- 12th ByzanFest, Melbourne - Australian premiere - best feature film, best director, best cinematography awards
- 30th CamerImage, Poland - best debut cinematography nomination
- 12. Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) 2021 - best foreign film score nomination
- 10. International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF) - award for Best Film, best score for feature film nomination
- 5. Moody Crab Film Fest, India - Best Drama Feature Film award
- 27th International Film Festival of Kerala, India
- 15th Jaipur International Film Festival, India
- 12th Asti International Film Festival, Italy - Prima Cosa Bella International Award
- 4. Madrid Film Awards 2023
- 50. ICVM Crown Awards 2023, Orlando, USA - Bronze Award for best cinematography
- 4. Cinemana International Film Festival, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman - Best Actress Award
- 8. Chicago Serbian Film Fest, Ilionis, USA - best Actress award
- 20. Serbian Film Festival, Sydney, Australia
- 16. Prvi Kadar International Film Festival, East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 11. International Christian Film Festival - nomination for best feature film and best cinematography
- 5. Rome Prisma Film Awards - Nominations for: Best of Fest, Best feature film, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Coustume Design, Best Trailer ; Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Sound, Best Costume Design
- 72. Columbus International Film & Animation Festival
- 10. Zlatnata Lipa / Golden Linden, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
- 7. Bucharest Film Awards - Nomination for best feature ; Award for Best soundtrack
- 17. Ethioiff - Ethiopian Interntional Film Festival
- 12. Global Music Awards - Silver Medal Winner - Outstanding Achivment - original score
- 3. Budapest Movie Awards - Grand Prix: Best Feature Film
- 31. Zolotoy Vityaz International Film Festival 2023 - Gold Diploma for Feature Film
- 10. Zabaikalsky International Film Festival, Chita, Russia - Best Screenplay
- 3. Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival - Best Dirceting (April 2023)
- 56. WorldFest Houston - Bronze Remi Award (Best Feature Film - Christian)
- 10. Uganda Film Festival
- 26. Religion Today Film Festival, Trento, Italy - "Religion through the eyes of women" Award
- 10. Great Lakes Christian Film Festival, Mitchigan, USA
- 12. Balkan New Film Festial, Norrköping and Stokholm, Sweden - Best Production Design
- 11. Chania Film Festival, Greece
- 7. Forteca International Film Festival, Perast, Montenegro - Special Jury Award for spirituality in film
- 20 SIMFEST, Tirgu Mures, Romania
- 3. VOTE TO FILM Film Festival, Crimea, Russia
- 3. Trani Festival Del Cinema e Del Mare, Trani, Puglia, Italy
- 11. BlastOff Film Festvial, Los Angeles, USA - best soundtrack, best sound design
- 3. Adria Film Fest, Vienna, Austria
- 7. Sound And Vision International Film & Technology Festival, NY, USA
- 2. GoldenArt FilmAcademy Awards - Best Feature Film
- 12. Calgary European Film Festival, Calgary, Canada
- 4. Prague International Film Awards, Prague, Czech Republic
- 5. Košice International Film Festivač, Košice, Slovakia - Best Cinematography Award
- 25. Kubanski festival "Vechevoi Kolokol", Krasnodar, Russia - Best Directing Award
- 1. Days of Serbian Film by Roskino, Moscow/Saint Petersburg
- 9. Balkan Panorama Film Festival, Izmir, Turkey
- 19. Festival Internacional de Cine de Rengo, Chile - Best Cinematography Award
- 19. "Vstrecha" orthodox film festival, Obninsk, Russia
- 6. DaVinci International Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA
- 4. London Director Awards, UK
- 16. New York City Independent Film Festival, NY, USA
- 3. Septimius Awards, Amsterdam, Netherlands -
- 20. Festival domaćeg filma, Leposavic, Serbia
- 8. Kosovo i Metohija International Film Festival, Gracanica, Serbia
- 3. FEDEG festival, Belgrade, Serbia - Best young actress award
- 51. SOFEST, Sopot, Serbia
- 30. Festival of European Film, Palic, Serbia - program Best of Europe 2022.
- 47. Screenfest, Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia - 3rd award for screenplay
- 58. Filmski susreti, Nis, Serbia
- 6. Dunav Film Fest, Smederevo, Serbia
- 4. Filmski festival Obnova, Novi Sad, Serbia
- 8. sumadijski internacionalni filmski festival - Audience Award
HADZI-ALEKSANDAR DJUROVIC, director
Born in Belgrade in 1988. year. After the third year of high school enrolled directing at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. Graduated in 2010. From 2011 to 2016 he was assistant on departments of tv and film directing. He is founder and producer in production company Aleksandrija Films since 2009. He directed 12 internationaly awarded short fiction and short documentary films. His debut feature "Love Comes After" had premiere at Belgrade 61st FEST 2013 won award on Beverly Hills Film Festival in category Best Director and was nominated for Best foreign film and Best director award on NYCIFF in 2013. His first feature
documentary “You leave, I’ll Stay!” was in official documentary competition programme of 38th Moscow Film Festival. “The Bloody Lilly of the Valey” was in official selection of Montreal Film Festival. “The Touch to pain” was in official international short competition of 62. Cork Film Festival and South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles. Short film “Cockoo” was in official selection of World Fest Houston film festival. His most successful project so far is second feature fiction film "A Cross in the Desert" that had over 101.000 theatrical admissions, and was in selection of 62 festivals where it won 31 awards.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
Marked (2008)
After The Rooster`s Crow (2010)
Soil (2007-2013)
Hibernation (2013)
Love Comes After (2013)
Stand Down Tragedy (2014),
The Bloody Lilly of the Valley (2014)
Path (2015)
You Leave, I`ll Stay! (2015)
Mount of Transfiguration (2016)
Hypertension (2016)
Only Love Can Save Us (2017)
The Touch to Pain (2017)
Cuckoo (2017)
Third (2019)
A Cross in the Desert (2022)
