
Give as a gift
After years of addiction, 32-year-old Dejan arrives at an isolated monastery run by the strict but magnetic Father Branko, where labour, discipline, obedience and faith form the basis of recovery of this rehabilitation community. Under the guidance of his humble guardian Mionica, Dejan slowly begins to rebuild his life and finds a sense of belonging among those struggling to escape addiction. But when a disturbing video emerges showing a patient violently enforcing the community’s rules, the fragile order begins to unravel. As Dejan is forced to confront the reality behind the system that saved him, he must decide how far he is willing to go to protect the only community where he has ever felt he belonged. The story is inspired by a true incident from over a decade ago, when a cellphone video revealed the brutal punishment of a patient at a rehabilitation centre affiliated to a Serbian Orthodox monastery. The footage immediately polarised public opinion, with some defending the priest’s methods and others strongly condemning them. Following its world premiere at Toronto IFF 2025, the film won several prizes at Film Festival Cottbus, Transilvania IFF, Pula and Herceg Novi.
- Year2025
- Runtime90 minutes
- CountrySerbia, Italy, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Subtitle Languageenglish
- DirectorGoran Stanković
- ScreenwriterGoran Stanković, Ognjen Sviličić, Maja Pelević, Dejan Prćić
- ProducerSnežana van Houwelingen
- CastVučić Perović Branko Boris Isaković Goran Marković Jasna Žalica Toni Mihajlovski Nikola Šurbanović Nenad Heraković Goran Slavić Baškim Jakupi Lazar Tasić Dado Ćosić Nataša Miovčić Danica Mitić

After years of addiction, 32-year-old Dejan arrives at an isolated monastery run by the strict but magnetic Father Branko, where labour, discipline, obedience and faith form the basis of recovery of this rehabilitation community. Under the guidance of his humble guardian Mionica, Dejan slowly begins to rebuild his life and finds a sense of belonging among those struggling to escape addiction. But when a disturbing video emerges showing a patient violently enforcing the community’s rules, the fragile order begins to unravel. As Dejan is forced to confront the reality behind the system that saved him, he must decide how far he is willing to go to protect the only community where he has ever felt he belonged. The story is inspired by a true incident from over a decade ago, when a cellphone video revealed the brutal punishment of a patient at a rehabilitation centre affiliated to a Serbian Orthodox monastery. The footage immediately polarised public opinion, with some defending the priest’s methods and others strongly condemning them. Following its world premiere at Toronto IFF 2025, the film won several prizes at Film Festival Cottbus, Transilvania IFF, Pula and Herceg Novi.
- Year2025
- Runtime90 minutes
- CountrySerbia, Italy, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Subtitle Languageenglish
- DirectorGoran Stanković
- ScreenwriterGoran Stanković, Ognjen Sviličić, Maja Pelević, Dejan Prćić
- ProducerSnežana van Houwelingen
- CastVučić Perović Branko Boris Isaković Goran Marković Jasna Žalica Toni Mihajlovski Nikola Šurbanović Nenad Heraković Goran Slavić Baškim Jakupi Lazar Tasić Dado Ćosić Nataša Miovčić Danica Mitić