A locked door inside a Belgrade home has kept one family separated from their past for generations. An intimate conversation between the director and her mother, the dynamic activist and scholar Srbijanka Turajlić, reveals a house and a country haunted by history. What begins as the chronicle of a childhood home grows into an elegant portrait of a charismatic and brilliant woman in times of great political turmoil.
"The story of Srbijanka Turajlić’s resistance, and the ongoing impediments to progress, reflect with an unmistakable and disturbing clarity both the pathologies of current American politics and the depressingly difficult path that the resistance to an authoritarian government faces." —The New Yorker
"An historic step for Serbian cinema... Powerful and honest." —Vice Magazine
"Director Mila Turajlić examines Serbia's political history through the eyes of her activist mother in this engrossing doc." —Variety
"Informative and wryly humorous, the film uses Srbijanka's tastefully decorated residence as a prism through which to view the woman, her turbulent times and the complicated history of the former Yugoslavia." —The Hollywood Reporter
"Fascinating; a standout... A stirring portrait of one of the most galvanizing voices for political action in contemporary documentary cinema." —The Independent
"Turajlic's intensely personal documentary about her famous activist mother's nonstop support for democratic politics—throughout a life where nary a victory has been won—is a cross-generational statement about hope in face of despair. It was my personal best [IDFA film festival] moment when I got to meet her." —Documentary Magazine
"Critic's Pick! Engrossing; this thoroughly absorbing documentary details [one] family’s rich history within the fluctuating fortunes of Serbian democracy." —The New York Times
"At once an intimate portrait of an admirable woman and a broader look at a troubled land, this is highly recommended." —Video Librarian
Best Documentary, 2018 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
Best Writing, 2018 International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards
Best Director of a Documentary, 2018 RiverRun International Film Festival
World Premiere, 2017 Toronto International Film Festival
New York Premiere, 2017 DOC NYC Film Festival
Jury Award and Best Editing, 2018 Salem Film Festival
2018 World Convention, Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN)
2018 ACT Human Rights Film Festival
2018 CPH:DOX Documentary Film Festival
2018 Seattle International Film Festival
2018 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
2018 Women's Film Festival
Serbian Premiere, 2017 Festival Autorskog Filma