Montenegrin director Senad Sahmanovic has started shooting his first feature film, Sirin, on location in the coastal city of Ulcinj. He is best known for the short Tranquillity of blood, which made a splash on the festival circuit in 2015.

Danish-Serbian actress Danica Ćurčić, most recently seen in Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović`s Camera d`Or winner Murina and the Netflix series The Chestnut Man, plays Nathalie, a lawyer who returns to Montenegro from the USA after 20 years to resolve an inheritance case involving a rich woman who has bequeathed a large sum to the Orthodox church in her hometown. In order to do this, Nathalie has to re-examine her original identity and culture, which she had buried in an attempt to embrace the new one so that she could advance in her career.

In addition to Ćurčić, the film stars EFA 2021 European Actress winner Jasna Djuricic (with whom Šahmanović worked on Tranquillity of Blood), plus an international cast including May-Linda Kasumović, Marko Baćović, Nikša Butijer, Lidija Kordić, Jelena Simić, Momčilo Otašević, Tihana Ćulafić, Mišo Obradović, Izudin Bajrović, Fatmir Spahiu, Simon Shkrelli and Bashkim Alaj.

Co-written by Šahmanović and Italian writer-director Claudia Bottino and lensed by Aleksandar Jakonić, Sirin is a co-production between Montenegro`s Cut-Up, Croatia`s Sekvenca Production, Albania`s On Film Production, Kosovo`s Buka and Bosnia`s Dokument .

Previously, the project took part in MIDPOINT Feature Launch, Sarajevo`s CineLink, and Berlinale and Sarajevo Talents (where it won the Pack&Pitch Award), plus it received the Beaumarchais SACD Award and the Best Pitch Award at Prishtina`s Pri Film Fest. It was supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Albanian National Center of Cinematography, the Kosovo Cinematography Center and Eurimages.

Source: Cineuropa