The new feature film by director Miroslav Terzić, entitled “3 Weeks Later” (“3 nedelje posle”), enjoyed a highly successful world premiere as part of the competition programme at the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – one of Europe’s most prestigious film festivals and the only Category A festival in Central and Eastern Europe.
Presenting the film to a packed audience in the Grand Hall, the festival’s programme programmer Vojtěch Kočárník stated: “‘3 Weeks Later’ is a film from which we simply could not look away, despite the extremely difficult subject matter of peer-to-peer bullying and its potential consequences.”
Branislav Trifunović, an actor and producer of the film, addressed the audience after the screening, saying: “Ten years ago, I met the mother of Aleksa Janković, a boy whose story shocked the whole of Serbia. I called Snežana van Houwelingen and told her that we had to make a film about this story. Afterwards, we approached Vladimir Arsenijević and then Miša Terzić, who developed the story and directed the film. Ten years on, we hope and believe that this film can save some young lives.”
“3 Weeks Later” tells the story of a group of high school students who, three weeks after the tragic loss of a classmate, set off on a previously arranged school trip. During the journey, which is supposed to offer an escape from everyday life, issues surrounding responsibility, silence, peer bullying, and collective guilt gradually surface. Inspired by true events, “3 Weeks Later” offers an intense and emotional story about a society trying to understand the consequences of a tragedy it failed to prevent.
The lead roles in the film are played by young actors Jovan Ginić, Anđela Alavirević, Klara Karaulić, and Andrija Marković, alongside prominent actors Tihana Lazović Trifunović and Branislav Trifunović.
The film is produced by Belgrade-based This and That Productions and was made with the support of the Film Centre of Serbia, the Luxembourg Cineworld Fund, the National Filarm Centre of Bulgaria, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, and the Creative Europe MEDIA programme.
Prior to its world premiere in Karlovy Vary, the film had already caught the attention of the film industry, winning the HBO Award as part of the CineLink Industry Days programme at the Sarajevo Film Festival – one of the most important regional events for film industry professionals.
Ahead of the world premiere, the official trailer and poster for the film were also released. The poster was designed by the creative team Braća Burazeri, while the trailer was premiered by the magazine The Hollywood Reporter.
“3 Weeks Later” – Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM6oduvBiqg
Photo credits: KVIFF