Jelena is a photojournalist on an investigative editorial team in Belgrade that campaigns for basic democratic rights. Her journalistic work is her passion, but the atmosphere around her has been threatening for some time and she is increasingly becoming a target of right-wing populist groups. When one day the editorial office is violently attacked and shortly afterward her daughter Lara is threatened, Jelena decides - much to the relief of her mother Branka - to leave the country for the time being. And so she leaves her lover Nikola behind and sets off for Hamburg with her daughter. In Germany, she continues to pursue her vocation but soon encounters fierce hostility and hate attacks there as well. She takes every risk to uncover the truth.
Tamara Denić was born in former Yugoslavia in 1992 In 2016, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in art and multimedia and a minor in media informatics at LMU in Munich with an interactive, experimental short film. After that, Tamara worked as a dubbing recording manager, film production and editorial assistant, and video editor in Berlin. At the same time, she acted in independent theatre groups and experimented with video performances. However, Tamara soon devoted herself increasingly to narrative short film projects. Alongside her film projects, paintings and photographs, Tamara experiments with animations and VJing. 2022 she graduated with a master’s degree in film directing at Hamburg Media School with a scholarship from Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.
Her short film GET HOME SAFE (13 min.) has been screened at 50 festivals worldwide, a.o. Camerimage 2022, and received numerous awards, including the Engelke Short Film Award of International Film Festival Emden-Norderney and the Special Jury Prize of the 21st International Student Film & Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy.
Her graduation film ISTINA (‘Truth’, 29 min.) she shot in Serbia and Germany. The short won the Audience Award for a Mid-Length Film at the 44th Max Ophüls Film Festival.
Her graduation film ISTINA (‘Truth’, 29 min.) was shot in Serbia and Germany. The short won the Audience Award for a Mid-Length Film at the 44th Max Ophüls Film Festival. ISTINA won the Student Oscar 2023 (Bronze).
- Year2023
- Runtime0:28:25
- LanguageEnglish, German, Serbian
- CountryGermany
- GenreShort, Student
- DirectorTamara Denić
- ScreenwriterDavid Marius Lorenz
- ProducerChristian Siée
- CastNika Rozman, Milica Vuksanović, Elizabeta Dorevksa, Matthias Ludwig, Jelena Bosanac, Idil Üner
Jelena is a photojournalist on an investigative editorial team in Belgrade that campaigns for basic democratic rights. Her journalistic work is her passion, but the atmosphere around her has been threatening for some time and she is increasingly becoming a target of right-wing populist groups. When one day the editorial office is violently attacked and shortly afterward her daughter Lara is threatened, Jelena decides - much to the relief of her mother Branka - to leave the country for the time being. And so she leaves her lover Nikola behind and sets off for Hamburg with her daughter. In Germany, she continues to pursue her vocation but soon encounters fierce hostility and hate attacks there as well. She takes every risk to uncover the truth.
Tamara Denić was born in former Yugoslavia in 1992 In 2016, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in art and multimedia and a minor in media informatics at LMU in Munich with an interactive, experimental short film. After that, Tamara worked as a dubbing recording manager, film production and editorial assistant, and video editor in Berlin. At the same time, she acted in independent theatre groups and experimented with video performances. However, Tamara soon devoted herself increasingly to narrative short film projects. Alongside her film projects, paintings and photographs, Tamara experiments with animations and VJing. 2022 she graduated with a master’s degree in film directing at Hamburg Media School with a scholarship from Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.
Her short film GET HOME SAFE (13 min.) has been screened at 50 festivals worldwide, a.o. Camerimage 2022, and received numerous awards, including the Engelke Short Film Award of International Film Festival Emden-Norderney and the Special Jury Prize of the 21st International Student Film & Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy.
Her graduation film ISTINA (‘Truth’, 29 min.) she shot in Serbia and Germany. The short won the Audience Award for a Mid-Length Film at the 44th Max Ophüls Film Festival.
Her graduation film ISTINA (‘Truth’, 29 min.) was shot in Serbia and Germany. The short won the Audience Award for a Mid-Length Film at the 44th Max Ophüls Film Festival. ISTINA won the Student Oscar 2023 (Bronze).
- Year2023
- Runtime0:28:25
- LanguageEnglish, German, Serbian
- CountryGermany
- GenreShort, Student
- DirectorTamara Denić
- ScreenwriterDavid Marius Lorenz
- ProducerChristian Siée
- CastNika Rozman, Milica Vuksanović, Elizabeta Dorevksa, Matthias Ludwig, Jelena Bosanac, Idil Üner