Kan Muftic
WITH BLESSING ON YOUR WAY
A reserved shepherd’s life is forever altered when he disturbs a hornets’ nest, leading to a traumatic transformation and estrangement from his loved ones. As supernatural suspicions arise, he is ruthlessly cast out, returning as a haunting spectre to terrorise his wife and the village, blurring the line between reality and deep-seated trauma.
SYNOPSIS
Deep in the Bosnian mountains, Tarik lives a quiet life as a shepherd, but his world unravels when he disturbs a hornets’ nest and suffers a near-fatal attack. When he revives from a coma, the villagers claim he has awakened the mythical Dragon, leading to a brutal ritual that erases him from their lives. Embraced by the hornets, Tarik becomes something otherworldly, returning as a spectral presence that haunts his wife, Nidara. As fear spreads, Nidara must confront the question of whether Tarik is truly transformed, or a reflection of her own trauma.
DIRECTOR
Kan Muftic
PRODUCER
Dan Dixon
Kan Muftic
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Kan Muftic started his career in Switzerland, directing commercials and music videos before establishing his career in the United Kingdom as a concept artist for features and games, working for the likes of Ridley Scott, Andy Serkis, and Robert Zemeckis. In 2018, he directed the animation for Kiss Me First, working closely with showrunner Bryan Elsley. He has several features in development. The documentary Blackbelts, which delves into the lives of Croatian Para Taekwondo fighters, was selected for DOK Leipzig at the Beldocs Fest in Belgrade, while the animated horror film The Migrant explores the perilous journey of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea (Cartoon Movie 2021). In late 2024, Muftic shot a teaser for With Blessings on Your Way with some of the confirmed cast.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Drawing on my experience of war and Bosnian folk tales, With Blessings on Your Way explores trauma through magical realism, transforming psychological wounds into a haunting fable. Shot on Super 16mm, the film has a timeless, painterly quality, while a small crew, rehearsed actors, and existing locations keep production nimble and low-budget. The camera hides in shadows, zooming in to isolate characters and enter their minds. Vast, ancient landscapes dwarf the figures and expose them to the savagery of nature. The four-hundred-year-old village is a living relic, and its inhabitants are trapped in generational pain. The mountain looms above, holding dark secrets of the past. Horror emerges from the protagonist’s isolation, driven by the community’s denial of trauma. Superstition warps love into violence. As denial deepens, reality distorts, and old wounds reopen, turning personal suffering into a palpable, almost mythic threat.
Dan Dixon
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY
Dan Dixon is a co-founder of Snafu Pictures, working across animation and independent live-action genre projects. The company launched an animated series for Netflix, and is currently in financing with various projects across both live-action and animated features. He has worked in production at some of the largest VFX and animation studios in the United Kingdom (Aardman, MPC, The Imaginarium, Axis Studios, and Framestore), has worked on numerous high-profile productions, and has produced animation for the C4/Netflix series Kiss Me First and Cary Fukunaga’s Maniac (Paramount/ Netflix). Dixon is also a producer of globally successful genre shorts (The Stomach, Clanker Man and Urn); has pitched features at the Berlinale, APD, Annecy, Frontières, Galway Film Fleadh and the Film London Production Finance Market; and has taken part in an ACE Special Programme.
PRODUCER’S STATEMENT
As a producer, I collaborate with filmmakers with authentic, distinctive voices. With Blessings on Your Way, written and directed by Kan Muftic, embodies this ethos perfectly, combining a deeply personal story with a precise visual style shaped by his experience of war trauma. This perspective gives the project rare emotional truth and cultural specificity. Currently at an advanced draft and budgeting stage, the €1.6M United Kingdom–Bosnia and Herzegovina co-production will shoot in the mountains around Sarajevo, with post-production in the UK. Key collaborators are confirmed, including co-writer Elma Tataragić, lead actor Boris Ler (Quo Vadis, Aida?), and producers Aids Dapo and Amra Bakšić Čamo. With a committed director, experienced team, and clear vision, the film promises a visually striking, emotionally resonant cinematic experience.
Production company profile
Founded in 2020 by producers Dan Dixon and Paul Schleicher, Snafu was set up with the express interest of working with idiosyncratic storytellers wherever they create their work. From large-scale animation productions to independent live-action films, we strive to create must-see cinema for audiences worldwide, with a high level of artistry and crafted storytelling. With Blessings on Your Way is the first on a slate of genre projects being developed by the team.
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
1,763,232 €
FINANCES PENDING
832,262 €
FINANCING IN PLACE
547,780 € UK ; 383,189 € Bosnia
Production timeline
2026 Financing
2027 Shoot Q2