God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya (2019)

A Macedonian woman throws herself into a traditionally men-only ceremony, kicking up a ruckus and standing her ground.

Director:

Teona Strugar Mitevska

Writers:

Teona Strugar Mitevska, Elma Tataragic

Stars:

Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Stefan Vujisic

8 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zorica Nusheva	...	Petrunija
Labina Mitevska	...	Journalist Slavica
Stefan Vujisic	...	Younger Officer Darko
Suad Begovski	...	The Priest
Simeon Moni Damevski	...	Chief Inspector Milan
Violeta Sapkovska	...	Vaska
Petar Mircevski	...	Stoyan
Andrijana Kolevska	...	Blagica
Nikola Kumev	...	Older Officer Vasko
Bajrush Mjaku	...	The Prosecutor
Xhevdet Jashari	...	TV Cameraman Boykan
Vladimir Tuliev	...	Bartender Stefan
Ilija Volcheski	...	Angry Man#1
Igor Todorov	...	Angry Man#2
Nenad Angelkovic	...	Angry Man#3

Storyline

Every January in a small town in North Macedonia, the high priest throws a cross into the local waters, while dozens of men charge for it. The one who finds the cross is believed to gain overall good fortune and prosperity. An unemployed single young woman Petrunija jumps into the water and catches the cross. In this conservative setting, her competitors feel they have every right to be furious: a woman dared to compete and achieve what they failed to succeed in. Petrunija insists that she is the winner and refuses to return the cross.

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | f rated | triple f rated | female protagonist | procession | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: Agosto 2019: Tarantino y la macedonia (2019)

User Reviews

A non-conformist among traditionalists

I have just watched this movie in Athens and I am very satisfied with it. We were eleven spectators in the theatre during the 20:00 local time screening while rain and wind were raging outside. I had read about the message it seeks to convey and I think it does so very effectively. It is one-sided aligning with progress against religious tradition, obscurantism and male chauvinism. Some of those who uphold religious tradition and patriarchal authority are portrayed very negatively, the equivalent of "church and king" crowds of earlier times. Others such as the priest and some policemen are more ambivalent characters with both negative and positive aspects. Even the TV journalist though who upholds progressivism is not an altogether positive character. The plot is simple: an educated young woman who is nevertheless unemployed performs almost thoughtlessly a symbolic act which puts her at odds with the longstanding conventions and prejudices of a backward society and suffers the consequences. Clearly the movie sides with the open society option against ossified tradition. Not everyone will like this but most people in the West will.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan]

Country:

Republic of North Macedonia Belgium France Croatia Slovenia

Language:

Macedonian

Release Date:

1 May 2019 (France)

Also Known As:

Dieu existe, son nom est Petrunya

Filming Locations:

Shtip, Macedonia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$346,101

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sister and Brother Mitevski, Entre Chien et Loup, Vertigo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1