Forget the ocean, why not try surfing these insane river waves
Marko Grba Singh
Non-Aligned Films
A reconstruction of the 1957 encounter and relationship between director's Punjabi and Yugoslav grandparents set in the context of the contemporary post-Brexit crisis in the UK.
Tang to find out more information about his grandfather MAHINDER, and his marriage with grandma GORDANA. He is interviewing and talking with relatives of his grandfather. The fiction one is where events which happened in the 1950s are being reconstructed in the year of 2016. The director’s grandparents are young again, represented in THE YUGOSLAV GIRL and THE YOUNG SIKH. Two of them will meet on a dating app and fall in love with each other with many obstacles to come in a dystopic post-Brexit world.
Director’s biography: Marko Grba Singh / IMDb
Born in Belgrade, 1988. MARKO GRBA SINGH is currently on PhD studies in Film directing at the Faculty of Drama Arts, Belgrade. His short documentaries AT LEAST WE MET and PALE had their world premiere at (2012, 2013) Visions du reel (Nyon). His first mid-length film ABDUL & HAMZA was in competition of FID Marseille (2015) winning Special mention of the jury. His short film STARS OF GAOMEIGU won most innovative short film award at VISIONS DU REEL (2017). His filmIF I HAD IT MY WAY I WOULD NEVER LEAVE was screened at Cannes film festival, ACID (2017). His last documentary Rampart will premier at Locarno 2021.
Producer’s biography: Dragana Jovović / IMDb
DRAGANA JOVOVIĆ graduated French language and literature from the University of Belgrade. She holds an MA in Cultural management and cultural policy. She is co-founder of two production companies, Non-Aligned Films and Theory at Work. She produced documentaries Yugoslavia, How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body (dir. Marta Popivoda, 2013), Depth Two (dir. Ognjen Glavonic, 2016), both premiered at the Berlinale Forum and Landscapes of Resistance (dir. Marta Popivoda, 2021, IFF Rotterdam). Her first feature length production The Load premiered at Director’s Fortnight. She is EAVE alumna.
Where are we at?
Total estimated budget: 715.062,01 €
Finances pending: 704.508,82 €
Financing in place: 10.553,19 €
Production timeline
Script development: July 2018. - Jun 2019.
Project development: Jun 2019. - Jun 2021.
Financing: March 2021. - August 2022.
Preproduction: August 2022.
Shooting: August 2022. – November 2022.
Picture editing: August 2022 - January 2023
Sound editing: January 2023. - February 2023.
Sound mix: March 2023.
Picture post production: March 2023.
Premiere: May 2023
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Croatian co-producers, Irish co-producers, co-producers from other EU countries, funds, pre-sales, festivals
Director’s statement
My grandfather Mahinder is originally from Punjab. My grandmother Gordana is from Lika. They met in London while studing. He studied law and she was on her MA studies in English language. They fell in love and my father was born in 1962. Mahinder died very young but from what I know he visited Yugoslavia several times. After his death, we completely lost contact with our family from India. I grew up in complete ignorance and feeling that part of the family does not exist, that it never even existed and that it all happened to someone else, in some other world. My grandmother is still alive, but she doesn't want to talk about it. Several years ago Mahinder’s younger brother and his family found us on Facebook. Since then, I’ve been learning incredible and interesting stories from my grandfather’s life, even the part before he met Gordana. All of those stories, but especially love between them is what I want to focus on in this film.
Producer’s statement
Conceived as an amalgam of real family stories and fiction in which a past family drama is translated into the present, the film deals with the untold segments of the author's family history. Primarily guided by his strong personal motivation, starting from a very intimate experience, the author aspires to unfold a universal story. Reflecting on the problems his grandfather faced after falling in love and marrying a white Yugoslav woman in the 1960s, the film is an exploration of the counterparts to this problem today, what would have happened if his ancestors had met today, would their fate have been different? The parallels between the racism his ancestors faced in the early sixties and the rise of xenophobia in the first decades of the 2000s inspired and encouraged Marko to reconstruct their romance in the present. His intention is to make his ancestors little heroes whose romance will remain in eternity, by asking a question can love across difference transform society?
Production company profile
NON-ALIGNED FILMS is a production company founded in 2012 by young directors Ogn jen Glavonić and Stefan Ivančić, together with producer Dragana Jovović. It gathers young filmmakers who wish to experiment with formal and narrative aspects of their work. Recent highlights include Cannes title THE LOAD (dir. Ognjen Glavonić), feature documentary DEPTH TWO (dir. Ognjen Glavonić - Berlinale 2016) and feature fiction co productionYOU HAVE THE NIGHT (dir. Ivan Salatić - Venice 2018).
Email: dragana.jovovic.83@gmail.com