Plot

Pious girl Paraskeva spent 40 years of her life in desert fighting temptations, sins and inner demons.

True story set In 10th century about pious girl Paraskeva, who leaves her life in city of Constantinopole after death of her parents. After pilgrimage to Jerusalem, she decides not to return home and spends next 40 years in Jordan desert, fighting sins, temptations and inner demons. We follow her struggle and path from an ordinary girl to one of the most beloved female Saints in Christianity that is still celebrated today.

Beside lead story, we see relations between Christians and Muslims in that period. Side story shows us how two women (beduin Arab girl Zaineb and Paraskeva) from different cultural, social and religious backgrounds can share same human emotions, values, love and have unusual friendship with their pure hearts. Zaineb is her only friend during her time in desert, but also her mirror and reflection of the outside world that Paraskeva left. It is a story about how people can overcome own weaknesses. Topics of film are universal moral questions of mankind, and that makes it relevant even today anywhere in the world, regardless culture or religion, or even atheism.

Film was inspired by life of Saint Paraskeva, whose relics are in city of Iasi in Romania. It contains poetic and spiritual approach to the topic of asceticism in this cinematic experience of sound and images with little dialogue.

Film is based on the bestselling novel "Petkana" (2001), by the most read Serbian writer Ljiljana Habjanovic Djurovic, whose novels were also translated and published worldwide. This film is first ever Serbian-Jordanian co-production (shot mostly in Jordan, than Serbia and Romania). Project was supported by Government of Serbia - Ministry of Culture of Serbia, Film Center Serbia and Royal Film Commision of Jordan. It is co-produced in association with production house Jordan Pioneers.