Principal photography wrapped last month in Podgorica on Požari (lit. “Fires”), the debut feature by up-and-coming filmmaker Nina Tratnik. The film is a psychological coming-of-age drama set against the suffocating heat of a Balkan summer, capturing a young woman’s turmoil as family secrets and unspoken tensions rise to the surface.

The story follows 18-year-old Ana, who, on top of grappling with her own forbidden desires for her handball coach, finds herself suffocating under the pressure of her family during a sweltering summer. She is haunted by her father’s obsession with control, her mother’s secrecy grows heavier, and her grandmother is nearing death. Ana is forced to decide what in her life must burn and what can survive.

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The cast is led by Janja Ćetković as Ana, Aleksandar Gavranić (Iskra [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]), Maja Stojanović, Olivera Vuković and Lazar Đurđević, with Milica Borilović, Milo Perović, Jelena Baćović and others completing the ensemble.

The script is written by Jovana Bojović. This marks the first feature for Tratnik, who has worked across film, theatre, scenography and production design, having also accumulated years of experience as a first assistant director. The project participated in the EAVE training programme, was selected for the Brussels Co-Production Forum at the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) and was pitched at cocoPITCH at the Cottbus Film Festival. It was also showcased in the Montenegro Film Rendezvous industry programme of the Herceg Novi Film Festival, as well as through EFP’s Producers on the Move at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival (see the interview).

The three-week shoot took place entirely in Montenegro, across the municipalities of Podgorica and Ulcinj. The creative team includes director of photography Dušan Grubin (Working Class Goes to Hell [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mladen Djordjević
scheda film]), production designer Ognjen Smolović, sound recordist Darko Spasovski, costume designer Emir Turkeshi, make-up artist Nataša Sevčnikar, and heads of lighting and set Marko Vuković, Dejan Vuković and Boris Vuković.

Požari is a Montenegrin-Albanian-Serbian co-production staged by Bojana Radulović for Podgorica-based Code Blue Production, in co-production with Sabina Kodra for Albania’s Era Film Production, Nevena Savić for Cinnamon and Ivica Videnović for Cinnerent. The feature has received support from the Film Centre of Montenegro (FCCG), the Albanian National Center of Cinematography (QKK), the Secretariat for Culture of the Capital City Podgorica, the Tourist Organisation of Podgorica, the Handball Federation of Montenegro (RSCG) and the women’s handball team ŽRK Podgorica Bemax. The film is expected to be completed by July, with the premiere date yet to be confirmed.