Jakob Krese
ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD
In quiet desperation, a young father seeking to help his newborn daughter live, unveils the power of her name – a symbol of inspirational resistance born of the generations before her.
SYNOPSIS
When Jakob Krese’s daughter is born, he already knows her name: Maruša, after his mother and grandmother.
In the former Yugoslavia, the first Maruša became a partisan. For four years, she fought against fascism and in support of the revolution, rising to become a political commissar feared for her strictness and discipline. She was given her “illegal” partisan name, Maruša, as the alias she would forever be known by.
Her daughter wished to become a partisan too. When she realised they were no longer needed, she chose her own form of resistance, joining the student movement fighting for democratic socialism. When war broke out in the 1990s, she rushed to besieged Sarajevo to support her friends in the art scene. She became the second Maruša, fulfilling the destiny embedded in her civil name.
As the third Maruša fights for her life, Jakob tells a poetic story of resistance and hope woven from intimate writings and the historical archives of Yugoslavia with the hope it will inspire her to resist
DIRECTOR
Jakob Krese
PRODUCERS
Ivana Naceva, Annika Mayer
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Potem, Majmun Films, Zero Stress Production, Restart
COUNTRIES
Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Croatia
GENRE
Documentary
Jakob Krese
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Jakob Krese grew up between the former Yugoslavia and Germany. Coming from a mixed family, he became obsessed with the tensions within the relationship between the individual and the collective. He explores these structural connections in his cinematic work, searching for past memories and future possibilities of resistance. He studied cinematography and directing at the Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg, the University of the Arts in Havana, and the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo. In 2019, Krese founded the production company Majmun Films together with Annika Mayer. Since then, his films as director have premiered at renowned festivals like the International Film Festival Rotterdam, DOK Leipzig, Visions du Réél, and the Busan and Palm Springs International Film Festivals. His latest Academy Award-qualifying short film Prekid Vatre premiered in Berlinale Shorts in 2025, was shown at more than fifty festivals, and won numerous awards. He lives and works between Trieste, Ljubljana, and Berlin.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
About the End of the World is a personal memoir about resistance and hope, and about the importance of saying “no” and swimming against the tide, even when it feels impossible. My family history shows that it is always necessary to fight injustice: fascism, nationalism, racism, social inequality, and systems that suppress free thought. The film centres on two women, my mother and grandmother. As a son and grandson, I enter into a dialogue with them for future generations, including my two daughters, who inherit a world where resistance becomes a form of survival. After I started my own family, new wars erupted in Europe and Gaza, conflicts that echo the Yugoslav wars. Nationalism and hatred are rising again, giving this story painful urgency. The film asks how to act today as a human being, father, filmmaker, son, and grandson. The mistakes and inspirations of the past must be visible for future generations.
Ivana Naceva
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1986, Ivana Naceva holds an MA in cultural studies from the University of Ljubljana. Building on more than a decade of experience in cultural management, she transitioned into the film industry, working as a freelance producer and production manager on selected productions in Slovenia.
PRODUCER’S STATEMENT
At its heart, About the End of the World is an exploration of memory, resistance, and the bonds that connect generations. Through the story of a father’s attempt to connect his daughter to a lineage of strength and survival, director Jakob Krese transforms a deeply personal journey into a reflection on broader historical and political realities. Combining intimate family history with rare and previously unseen archival material, the film offers a deeply human perspective on events that have shaped the collective memory across former Yugoslavia. By grounding historical trauma in one family’s experience, it brings the past into the present with urgency, empathy, and emotional clarity. With its core financing secured, About the End of the World is now entering the final stages of production. The film is being developed as an international co-production between Slovenia, Germany, Italy, and Croatia, with the support of the Slovenian Film Centre, German BKM, FVG Fund and Italian MIC, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, and Eurimages. The project is also supported by ZDF/Arte and the Slovenian public broadcaster RTV Slovenia. Together with our international partners and collaborators, we are committed to bringing Jakob’s vision to the screen and sharing this powerful story with audiences worldwide.
Annika Mayer
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY
Annika Mayer is a Berlin-based editor and documentary producer. She studied film editing at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf and holds a PhD in social anthropology. In 2019 she co-founded the production company Majmun Films with Jakob Krese. She has produced and edited numerous award-winning documentaries and short films, including Jakob Krese and Danilo do Carmo’s LO QUE QUEDA EN EL CAMINO and LA ESPERA. Recently, Mayer completed her directorial debut, the documentary HOME SWEET HOME, which won the Lola Award for Best Mid-Length Film in 2024.
Production company profile
Potem is an independent production company, based in Ljubljana and dedicated to creating impactful films that address pressing social issues, inspire dialogue, and engage audiences in meaningful conversation. Its current projects include Prekid Vatre, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2025, and Elena Chemerska’s Ruins , which had its premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2026.
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
895.750 €
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
23.000 €
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