Synopsis

Betrayed by her partner and publicly humiliated at work, Vera, a 35-year-old nurse, suffers a spectacular breakdown that ends in her arrest. In just one day, she loses her job, her home, and any remaining sense of direction. As she contemplates ending her life, an unexpected offer arrives: a job as a caregiver in a remote, forgotten mountain village. Her new patients are far from ordinary. Krsto, once a ruthless profiteer, is now bedridden and oxygen-bound, but still sharp-tongued and delightfully crude. Milica, his wife, is a once-regal woman sliding into dementia, yet clinging to her manners and aristocratic disdain. Though they share a roof, they live in cold war conditions — full of sabotage, insults, and a rigid territorial divide. Even their estranged son, safely tucked away in Australia, has wisely chosen never to return. Instead of offering care, Vera finds herself cast as a reluctant referee in their endless domestic war. Amid the madness, she meets Viktor — a gentle, disillusioned local with a past of his own. As absurd challenges mount, so does the unspoken connection between them.

When Vera’s depression spirals into a half-hearted suicide attempt involving pills, alcohol, and a bathtub, Krsto and Milica call a ceasefire. Not out of compassion, but as Krsto bluntly explains: “We can’t be bothered to find a new one.” Yet their selfish, chaotic rescue effort begins to bring Vera back to life — and slowly, to all three, something resembling connection. As Krsto’s health declines, he requests a dying wish: a private dance from a stripper — no nudity, but a strict character and costume selection. Vera, inexplicably, finds herself auditioning dancers at a nearby club. Meanwhile, Milica repeatedly disappears into the forest, convinced she’s meeting a long-lost lover. Viktor eventually slips a tracker on her just to keep up. During the long-awaited dance, Krsto does something no one expects — he cries. Moments later, he dies holding an old photo of himself and Milica in their youth, standing at the very place she’s been trying to reach. The dancer eerily resembles the young Milica. For Vera, it’s a revelation: beneath the insults, bitterness, and endless conflict, there was once love. But instead of healing, Krsto and Milica spent a lifetime trying to win. Vera, who arrived lost and broken, survives pain, absurdity, and unexpected tenderness — and in the most unlikely company, finds the strength to live again.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

In my late thirties, I faced two monumental losses – that of my father and mother . As an only child, it was almost entirely my responsibility to ensure care and a peaceful departure in their final days. Without delving into pathos or lamentations, I want to convey that the story of the Pot, the Lid, and the nurse is a story I have lived until recently. After a few “auditions,” I managed to hire a woman with no prior experience in the job, apart from nursing her own grandparents. Of course, in the beginning, the very presence of a caregiver was met with strong resistance, rejection, and a blow to my parent’s pride. As time passed and illness progressed, this resistance turned into tolerance, then into friendship, and eventually into a special bond. . This entire emotional arc was filled with sorrow and pain, but also with absurdly humorous moments and misunderstandings.

VARDAN TOZIJA

Vardan Tozija is a film director and a screenwriter. He graduated at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Skopje. He was journalist, political analyst and editor in regional newspapers and magazines. He directed several short features and documentaries– “The Man With a Strange Habit of Hitting My Head With an Umbrella”, “The Whistler”, “One”, “Home?” screened and awarded on a number of international film festivals. His debut feature film, “Amok”, was premiered at Chicago film festival, and has been selected in more than thirty film festivals worldwide. “Amok” received a significant critical acclaim and acquired numerous Gran Prix’s and Fipresci prizes, and has been distributed in Europe and Asia by the sales company Reel Suspects.

He has worked as a director in several TV-series: “Prespav” and “House Arrest”, sitcoms; “Pet +”, a children TV-show; “Insider”, a political thriller; the international franchise of the series “In Treatment”, “Radius”, an adventure documentary series.  His second feature film, “M”, a fantasy-drama set up in a grim, dystopic world of the near future had its distribution/festival release in 2024. The film is a Macedonian, French, Luxembourg, Croatian and Kosovo co-production, and is represented by the U.S. sales company One Two Three Media. So far, “M” has traveled through more than 40 festivals across the world, collecting 11 Gran Prix, Best director and Audience awards (CV attached) on some of the biggest genre festivals and is being distributed theatrically and on VOD in USA, Germany, France, Spain, the Balkans, Russian Federation, Latin America, Philippines, Australia etc.