Bojana Novaković
THE FORBIDDEN AUNT
Bojana Novakovic films a documentary about her mysterious aunt in rural Serbia, uncovering family secrets & confronting her own past in a darkly comedic, multi-generational portrait of women & trauma.
SYNOPSIS
Actress and filmmaker Bojana Novakovic travels from Hollywood to rural Serbia to uncover the life of her eccentric, troubled aunt. Through a mix of interviews, archival footage, and Turkish soap-opera-style reenactments, this documentary portrays the deep complexity of Gordana’s life, and secrets about the women in her family. Raised in communist Yugoslavia, Gordana turned to alcohol, men and soap operas to cope with the trauma of her upbringing. By 19, she was a young mother, and soon to be an alcoholic, divorcee, and widow. Bojana’s interviews uncover joyful memories as well as darker truths: Gordana was a neglectful mother, but she also survived a history of abuse—mistreated by her father and raped by a tutor. Gordana kept this secret for decades, revealing it now in her 60s. These revelations force Bojana and her family to confront generational trauma. The film asks us: Can an alcoholic mother be loved? How can trauma be healed? What started as a joyful exploration of a rebellious spirit results in a deep exploration of patriarchal Balkan culture and its effects on the personal lives of 4 generations of Serbian women in one family.
DIRECTOR
Bojana Novaković
PRODUCER
Bojana Novaković, Sonja Božić, Milan Stojanović
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Sense Production
COUNTRY
Serbia
GENRE
Documentary
Bojana Novaković
BOJANA NOVAKOVIĆ is an award winning actress, writer & community organizer. She was the lead in Hulu/Warner Brothers series Love Me for which she received 2 Australian Academy award (AACTA) nominations. TV credits include INSTINCT (CBS), Shameless (Showtime), Westworld (HBO), ChicagoPD (NBC) & ABC’s Marking Time for which she won an AACTA. She has been in over 20 feature films including BIRDS OF PREY, I, TONYA, BEYOND SKYLINE, and EDGE OF DARKNESS. She is the coordinator of Mars sa Drine, a Serbian movement against mining, for which she has received several environmental awards.
Over 50% of Serbian women experience violence in their lifetime, while over 40% endure sexual violence. My aunt survived both before she was 10 years old. I went to rural Serbia after a bad breakup in Hollywood expecting that a woman shaped by patriarchal Yugoslavia would make me feel better. Instead, I met 3 generations of women in my family, all survivors of sexual violence, whose strength & humor defied all odds. The truth forced me to confront not just my family’s flaws, but my own as well. Marred by addiction and codependency, we are bound by love and humor. Gordana’s uncompromising humor became the key to telling her unbearable story. Her love for Turkish soap operas inspired me to re-enact the darkest parts of her past in their style, exploring trauma without losing the essence of her spirit. Shot by me, the film is as raw & emotional as the family it portrays—messy, passionate & undeniably human. It’s a story of survival, love & the complex bonds that make us who we are.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Sonja Božić
SONJA BOZIC is a filmmaker & professor. Serbian native, US-based, she has edited, directed, & produced projects that have been screened at international festivals, including Cannes. She participated in the 2013 Tribeca Hackathon. Sonja is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media at Adelphi University. She serves as a mentor & speaker internationally, giving talks at conferences such as SIGGRAPH and VR/AR Global Summit. Sonja was the 2023 Saul Zaents Innovation Fund - Johns Hopkins fellow with her VR project, Chocolate Milk, an immersive exploration of the mind of a person with Autism.
Production company profile
SENSE PRODUCTION https://senseproduction.rs/ is run by a trio of EAVE producers: Milan Stojanović, Maja Popović Milojević & Marija Stojanović. Their latest project, HOW I LEARNED TO FLY (Leto kada sam naučila da letim) won over 20 awards at domestic & international festivals. Sense also produced award-winning films OASIS (2020 Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film, Serbian OSCARS entry) and BARBARIANS (2014 Special Mention, Karlovy Vary IFF). Their drama series THE LAST SOCIALIST ARTEFACT won awards at Series Mania and Seriencamp.
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
179.136€
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
39.200 €
Looking for at CineLink?
i.e. German broadcaster, Croatian co-producer, pre-sales, etc. ; the final tranche of finishing funds; a co-production partner for European broadcasting and/or distribution, and a European producer with expertise in international documentary sales and distribution.