25/09/2024 - The Croatian filmmaker tells the story of the strong, but pathological, relationship between a Millennial man and his mother

Before getting into feature-length fiction cinema, Croatian filmmaker and part-time actor Josip Lukić explored the realm of documentary filmmaking in both the short and mid-length formats with the award-winning titles Momsy (2018) and The Rex Will Sail In (2019), as well as probing the possibilities of docu-fiction and auto-fiction with a number of shorts. His body of work so far has earned him the status of being one of the most authentic Croatian filmmakers of the younger generation. His feature-length debut, Mom’s Alive Today, is currently being shot in Lukić’s native city of Split.

The story revolves around a Millennial man, Jakov, who has a hard time dealing with his own existence, marked by a looming crisis both on the personal and the social level. He abruptly decides to come back to his hometown to take care of his schizophrenic mother, with whom he has a deep, but mostly pathological, relationship. The connection they have prevents him from growing up and taking control of his own life, which brings him to the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Writer-director Lukić also stars in his film, along with the “premier league” of Croatian actors, such as Ksenija Marinković (On the Other Side [+see also:
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interview: Tihana Lazovic
interview: Zrinko Ogresta
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interview: Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluš…
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interview: Dalibor Matanic
interview: Tihana Lazovic
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interview: Dalibor Matanić
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interview: Ivan Marinović
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interview: Juraj Lerotić
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interview: Dubravka Turić
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interview: Andrija Mardešić and David …
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interview: Hana Jušić
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interview: Sonja Tarokić
film profile]), among others. Crew-wise, the film is being lensed by Serbian cinematographer Miloš Jaćimović and will be edited by Borna Buljević. Dragana Baćović serves as the production designer, Tina Spahija and Egzona Kadriji designed the costumes, while Iva Kurobasa handles the make-up.

Mom’s Alive Today is a co-production between Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo. It is being produced by Tena Gojić from Dinaridi Film, Dragana Jovović, Stefan Ivančić and Ognjen Glavonić from Non-Aligned Films, and Bujar Kabashi from Mobius. The project was presented at the 2023 CineLink Industry Days at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and it has also received support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Film Center Serbia, the Kosovo Cinematography Center and the City of Split.