CM 2023

Film Center Serbia (Script, Development, Prod.)

Adriatic Western

Creative Europe MEDIA (Development)

When the Kids Sing the Hits

Deca pevaju hitove

CineMart 2023 - When the Kids Sing the Hits

Goals at CineMart As January 2023 will mark our project's market premiere, our first goal is reaching the needed visibility in the international circuit. At CineMart, we primarily hope to meet producers, especially from the Netherlands and other countries we don't often co-produce with (the Baltics, Scandinavia). We are also looking forward to meeting broadcasters such as ARTE, who we don't get many chances to have a chat with. Last but not least, we are eager to hear feedback from sales agents and start talks with some of them who might like the project. Synopsis 1989. As Jovana and Milena start their way through elementary school, a big contest, called "Children Sing!" is announced and the two friends plan on performing together. They spend days practicing on a nearby hill, which they call "The End of the World", because of its often-seen rainbow. Their pact and friendship is jeopardised by the unexpected first romance between Jovana and a boy from their class, and her decision to perform with him instead of Milena. However, on the day of the contest, the boy doesn&rsquo;t show up and Jovana is alone on the stage. Milena is there to save the day, and they win 3rd place. 1990.&nbsp;The two friends start their second grade and the new edition of the singing competition is announced. While the girls start corrective physio for crooked spines, Milena&rsquo;s father joins military exercises on "The End of the World" hill. Jovana&rsquo;s father, on the other hand, turns out to be having an affair and is accidentally caught by a confused Milena. It turns out that Jovana is suffering from kleptomania and her father wants to punish her, but Milena blackmails him with his own secret so that he lets Jovana compete in the singing contest. Jovana finishes 2nd place. 1991. The third grade starts with the understanding of the term "(military) reserve" and the reasons for their fathers's absence and hiding at their relatives&rsquo;s place. Tanks ride out of the local military base at "The End of the World" and Milena&rsquo;s dog Daisy, scared by the unbearable noise, runs away. Jovana learns that there will be no contest this year, due to war. While searching for Milena's dog Daisy, the girls accidentally witness the bearing of a coffin with the body of a young soldier, killed in war. Scared, Milena runs home, where she finds a note from her dad: "I went to find Daisy".&nbsp; That year, Jovana performs at an improvised contest for adult singers, held at a hotel bar and attended by local drunks. She wins 1st place.&nbsp;Director&rsquo;s Biography Mina Djukic was born in 1982 in Sombor, Serbia. She lived in Kula until 2001, when she moved to Belgrade. She graduated from the Faculty of Drama Arts and teaches digital filmmaking at the SAE Institute in Belgrade. She wrote and directed the award-winning feature&nbsp;The Disobedient (2014), which was presented at over 20 international festivals, including Sundance and IFFR. Screen International called the film ''beautiful'' and ''a flamboyant lyric tale'', especially pointing out the film's strong emotions and cinematography.In the frame of the company Film House Kiselo Dete, in which she is one of the founders, Mina also produced Tilva Ros (2010 / Locarno IFF, Sarajevo IFF) by Nikola Lezaic, A Handful of Stones&nbsp;(2017 / ACID, Tampere) by Stefan Ivancic, and a short documentary Yugo, A Short Autobiography (2010), which she directed. She also co-produced The Black Pin (2016 / Sarajevo FF) by Ivan Marinovic and Year of the Monkey (2018) by Vladimir Blazevski.

Sense Production

A triptych about friendship between Jovana (7) and Milena (7), who enter a pan-Yugoslavian singing competition for children in 1989. During three years of their young lives, they advance towards the great finals of the singing contest but also witness the last days of Yugoslavia and the gradual change of the scenery of their childhood.