Damir Markovina
WE SHALL LIVE TOGETHER
Thirty years after the war ended, two brothers urge their father to return to the place they were exiled from—their divided hometown, a city made up of hurt, trauma, and precious memories.
SYNOPSIS
Roko was a socialist MP in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. He is now an old man living on an island with his wife, Zina. When the war broke out, as a loved and prominent politician, Roko felt strongly that it was his moral obligation to lead by example and stay with his family in Mostar, even though it was under attack. They were soon exiled from the city by nationalists of their own nation, who accused Roko of treason and occupied his home. It took seven years after the war to get it back. They never returned. Roko’s choices caused a rift between him and his two sons, who visit regularly despite disagreeing with their father about almost everything. They question him constantly about his views and decisions, especially regarding the history of societies born amid the breakdown of Yugoslavia. They consider him selfish for his position as an idealistic dreamer. But, Roko’s firm loyalty to the idea of a united Bosnia and Herzegovina, his strong anti-nationalistic values, and his sense of justice see him cast his parliamentary vote against the unjust Dayton Agreement, making him at once a mythical figure of the Bosnian left and a pariah as far as the ruling nationalist structures are concerned. He knows he was right; for that, he lost his country, party, city, and the trust of his children. Thus, he chose exile and isolation in a self-imposed prison of memories and hate. But when does holding on to one’s principles become toxic to one's nearest and dearest? Can a war ever truly end? WE SHALL LIVE TOGETHER is a tale about getting back home.
DIRECTOR
Damir Markovina
PRODUCERS
Tamara Babun Zovko
CO-PRODUCER
Damir Markovina
EDITOR
Marta Bregeš, Vladimir Gojun
PRODUCTION COMPANIES
Wolfgang & Dolly LLC
CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY
Osoba D
COUNTRIES
Croatia
LENGTH
75 min
Damir Markovina
Damir Markovina was born in 1973 in Belgrade, raised in Mostar, and lives in Zagreb, where he graduated with an MA in film and television directing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in 2022, after previously graduating from studies in acting from the same school in 2000. He is a film director, producer, actor, and writer. His debut short documentary film, THE SHIFT, was selected for the Competition—Student Film at the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2019. His mid-length documentary film WAIT FOR ME won the AJB DOC Festival’s Main Award in Sarajevo 2021 and the prize for Best Student Documentary at the Pula Film Festival in 2022. DESERTERS, his second mid-length documentary, won the awards for Best Central and Eastern European Documentary Film and Best Sound Design at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival in 2022, where it had its world premiere, and was awarded Special Jury Prizes at ZagrebDox, the Verzió International Human Rights Film Festival in Budapest, and at UnderhillFest in Podgorica. His films have been awarded two Oktavijan Prizes for Best Croatian Short/Mid-Length Documentary Film by the Croatian Society of Film Critics. WE SHALL LIVE TOGETHER is his first feature-length documentary film.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Thirty-three years ago, I survived a war. It generated trauma that has driven me ever since; trauma caused as much by bombs as by the constant requests of the newly created societies to make choices: identity, nation, flag, political leanings. Coming from a very mixed family that believed strongly in Yugoslav brotherhood and unity, it was hard for the young man I was to process the end of the world I was raised in. I buried the frustration deep and moved on. My family chose exile. I rarely went back home; I didn’t feel it was real. But every time I did, the moment I would open the house door, there was the war again, waiting for me. My father just couldn’t let it go. To face him was to re-live the war at the kitchen table. My mother stayed by his side, unable to change anything. My father’s permanent reality is pictures of life he had before April 1992, and constant meditations about what he did, or allowed to happen—constant agony of reconsidering his actions and decisions. But, somewhere in the middle of those pictures of past life is a better part of me, hiding in the reeds. I want that part of me back. My father is an old man. I’m now the same age he was when the war broke out. Maybe I can finally understand him. I know this film is our last chance to reconcile, and perhaps, to live together at last.
Tamara Babun Zovko
Tamara Babun Zovko was born in Zagreb in 1985. She graduated from studies in film, television, and theatre production at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2009. After a decade of experience in producing films, videos, and theatre, in 2017 she started her own company—Wolfgang & Dolly LLC. She took part in the Eurimages gender equality ad hoc working group in Strasbourg, has consulted for the Romedia Foundation in Budapest, and has worked on various legislative agendas as a member of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board of the Croatian Producers' Association. Zovko is a past member of the FIAPF Executive Committee. She has taken part in the Emerging Producers training, Less Is More Development Angles, Sources 2, Screen Leaders, Ex Oriente, local EURODOC workshop, Sarajevo Talent Campus, IDFA Academy, BDC Discoveries, Producers on the Move, and EAVE+, and is a 2019 EAVE Producers Workshop graduate. She is the creator or co-creator of several documentary series and has projects in development, production, and post-production as producer and director. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829008/
PRODUCER’S STATEMENT
It takes much effort, knowledge, love, empathy, and skill to build a society. It takes a lot of will, alertness, and care to maintain it and allow it to transform as time goes by. It takes very little to destroy it. Yugoslavia failed the test of time; the wars in which it ended were seen as an atrocity from the outside and remains a deep tragedy for all involved. Unfortunately, looking at it from the present moment, it is merely one of many horrors, a bloody blip in the history of the world; yet, this huge, crushing force in the life of an individual. The film we are making acknowledges the very personal experiences of shattered dreams, a dispersed family, a broken homeland, and the utmost loneliness of idealism. It presents a dilemma: on the one hand, there is pride in the principles held by the entire family we follow; on the other, there are irreparable wounds that have been caused by those principles. What I find especially exciting in how Damir Markovina delivers the material is that it is so alive and engaging; it keeps me in constant dialogue and discussion not only with the characters, but with my own emotions and experience. I am sure it is the same for others, and part of the reason the project was selected for two year-long documentary programmes organised by the Balkan Documentary Centre and why it won three awards at the AJB Doc Industry Days and another at Beldocs Industry Days. We are very close to completion, and we are now looking for partners to bring this film, this experience, to the widest possible audience.
Production company profile
Wolfgang & Dolly (W&D) is a film production company based in Zagreb. Tamara Babun Zovko started the company in 2017 with a desire to produce creative audio-visual works that tackle socially relevant topics and safeguard hope for viewers. The core members include producers Matija Drniković and Aleksandar Arsovski, and promo producer and director Una Radić. The stories W&D tells are never merely a diagnosis of current affairs; they always feature distinct individuals who have the wits and love that can lead our society to a better tomorrow.
W&D produces creative content across available media and reaches audiences through innovative campaigns. Its mission is to put forward inspiring experiences that shed light on the value that our world and life offer, keeping in mind the educational aspects of the stories it takes on. The company is developing author-driven fiction films, creative documentaries, television series, and innovative online formats as well as, online and TVC videos for various clients.
Where are we at?
PRODUCTION BUDGET
€180,000
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
€50,000
TERRITORIES AVAILABLE
Worldwide
EXPECTED RELEASE
Spring 2026.
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