Logline

Three couples living on the outskirts of Belgrade, whose children are grown up, are growing and are yet to be born.

Synopsis

Story follows three couples from the immediate surroundings of the small town Ripanj. The first couple are the author’s parents, whose story is told through archival footage of their wedding. They were 16 years old and pregnant. That footage should be intertwined with interviews with them today. The second couple are the author’s close friends, who welcomed a child in 2017 at the age of 16 and 17. The third is a couple currently expecting their first child. The film deals with the relationships of young parents, their families, sometimes romantic and sensual, as well as hard and troublesome.

Director’s Statement

My parents started dating when my mother was 16 and my father was 17 years old. They were together for 3 months when they found out my mother was pregnant with me. Both families were against the pregnancy because they were in High school, they were too young. Families pressured them and convinced them that it was better for my mom to have an abortion, and that there would be better time to have kids, after they finish school. My parents decided to keep the child. The attitude of their parents was clear, if they are able to make children – they can behave like adults and live without their help. After a few months, the wedding – planned by my grandparents – took place. They didn’t know half the wedding guests, my mom was in a rented dress and my dad was in a suit that was too big for him. They looked like children at their wedding. While watching the footage from the wedding, I tried to put myself in the situation in which my parents found themselves. They really loved each other, so they wanted to get married and start their family soon. Two kids without finishing high school, with a child on the way. I have felt guilty since I was a child. I ‘ve always behaved well, because I felt guilty for what I did to them. Now, I know it’s not my fault, but I’m also not sure. As children, we look at the world differently. As I grew up, I always had the feeling that I owed them something, that it was up to me to make up for the years or careers that they lost because of me and then my younger brother. I want to ask them if they regret it, but I know that I’ll never get a negative answer, because it hurts, it hurts me and it hurts them too. My childhood best friend got pregnant when she was 16, a sophomore in High school. Her relationship caused her problems from the beginning because her boyfriend is of Roma nationality. I noticed that in my environment there are a large number of girls and boys who have children too early. I am interested in the circumstances that influenced their decision to keep the child at the age of 16. The whole process of transitioning from a child to a parent. The changes that take place inside them, but how these changes manifest physically over time. My best friend before and after giving birth was not the same, she was a few years older than me. Her hair was darker, her face paler. Above all, I am interested in love, the love that happened before or after the child. A love that may not be there. The structure of the film consists of three potential parts, in which I would try to cover the three terms I would deal with, love, family (community) and change. I think that all three parts are an indispensable part of each other, but I would try to analyze these three terms by framing and atmospheres. Conflict will arise between individual parts. Archival footage of my parents’ wedding will be used as an interlude and my personal attitude on this topic, which will certainly be felt in the film. The atmosphere of the film will rely on the bedrooms of the young parents and the use of natural light with possible minor corrections during filming. Their skin, the walls of the rooms, the house they live in will play an important element so that I will try to tell an intimate story about their relationship and the changes their body goes through through body parts.
Tara Gajović, directress of the film I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING

Director’s Bio

Tara Gajović (2000) studies Film and TV directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. She directed several short documentaries and fiction films. She directed the short film OBED which was screened at the Clapperboard Golden Festival in Sao Paulo, Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions and First-Time Filmmaker Sessions festivals in England. She directed three music videos, most recently she directed a video for the popular band KENI NIJE MRTAV and their song VETAR. Tara is also interested in animation and comic books, she directed a short animated video called ALEMBIC which will have its premiere at the Sinteza FF, Skopje North Macedonia.

Producer’s Bio

Čarna Vučinić holds a Master’s degree in Film and TV production from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade. She produced several short films: the short fiction film PARALYSIS (2016), which screened at the Pula FF and the Belgrade Documentary and Short FF; the short documentary LOVE (2017), which premiered at the 48th Visions du réel Festival in Nyon and screened at the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Beldocs IDFF, among others. Čarna also produced Dušan Zorić’s Venice Film Festival – Orizzonti entry FOREIGN BODY (2018). More recently, Čarna produced the co-directorial debut HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN? (2022) by Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević, which had its world premiere at the 37th International Film Critics’ Week of the 79th Venice Film Festival. She is a producer of the short film TILL FIRE SWALLOWS US by Nikola Stojanović, currently in post- production.

Producer’s Note

Tara Gajović, the author of the short documentary film I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING from the very beginning of her directing studies at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, shows the maturity and authenticity of her visual expression. The treatment for the film possesses all the strengths of Tara’s previous works, while the picturesqueness of the planned visual approach aims to upgrade the established aesthetics of her previous films. Tara’s film is a story about our society, family values that do not experience any change over time, and most of all growing up – too early and with struggle. Encouraged by growing up with young parents and spending time with a friend who became pregnant at a young age, the author very bravely and resiliently approaches her own fears, family relationships and the patriarchy rooted in our society. Over a period of six months, Tara would record three couples, their dynamics and relationships and body changes during pregnancy. The strength of Tara’s project is the access she has to the actors, and the archival material of her parents’ wedding, which forms a “palimpsest” of the story of her future research in this short film. The crew of the film I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING consists of the team of authors, who collaborated on previous projects, already established and agreed on the creative process and the realization of the project itself. The film is budgeted at 60 thousand euros. Considering the long period of filming, and the research necessary for the performance, the biggest support within the financial plan are Film Center Serbia’s grant, Faculty of Dramatic Arts in-kind support (equipment) and our own investment and deferrals which are in total approx. 59% of the film’s budget. Our plan is to secure another 5% by negotiating with the national broadcaster for licensing TV rights for a limited period, in addition we are open in meeting possible co-producers and broadcasters from the region who’d find this story compelling and interesting as we do. I am convinced that the project for the short documentary film I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING will find recognition among adolescents, but also among older generations – parents and future parents in Serbia, but the world as well. I deeply believe that the short film I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING will be another example of an independent film, which originates and communicates with new cinematographic streams from the Balkans, but also with contemporary world cinematographic tendencies. In the hope that you will recognize the value of this project. Sincerely, Čarna Vučinić, producer of the film I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING