SKATEBOARDING IS NOT FOR GIRLS
Dina Duma
Sisters and Brother Mitevski
When a conservative tradition of bridal sale becomes a solution for a financial family problem, ADELA dives into a completely new world where she gets caught between traditional and modern values.
ADELA (11) a Romani Muslim girl from Skopje lives in a Romani’s ghetto with her mother and older sister ZARA. When her family is faced with a financial crisis, Adela’s mother is detriment that the only solution is to sell her older daughter Zara to the bridal market, this would also save her from the rumors that she is seeing a boy. Adela can’t accept this destiny for her sister and takes matters in her own hands.
DINA DUMA / IMDB
Born in 1991, DINA DUMA is a Macedonian film director based in Skopje. She graduated film and TV directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Skopje in 2014 and in 2016 was selected at Berlinale Talents. Her debut feature film SISTERHOOD premiered in East of the West Competition at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2021 and won the Special Jury Prize. Her new film in development, SKATEBOARDING IS NOT FOR GIRLS has been selected for the 2022 Residence by Festival de Cannes.
Director’s statement
In my home country North Macedonia, the bridal sell at the bridal market is still a tradition in the Roma community. This market happens annually every year and many minor girls are being sold for a curtain amount of money as brides, the family makes the decisions about the future husband of the bride. SKATEBOARDING IS NOT FOR GIRLS follows the story of ADELA, an eleven-year-old Romani girl who is trying to save her sister from being sold at the bridal market. In order to save her sister, Adela is navigating between two completely different cultures, the traditional patriarch one at home and the internet generation at school. These two worlds represent a completely different model of femininity, on one hand she has her traditional mother and obeying sister and on the other hand she befriends a group of young skate girls who support each other and their goal is to skate better than boys.
LABINA MITEVSKA / IMDB
In 2001, LABINA MITEVSKA, her sister Teona and their brother Vuk established the production company SISTERS AND BROTHER MITEVSKI. The company produced short, feature, documentary and animation films that won numerous awards on festivals worldwide. All their feature films are complex and successful European co-production projects. In 2019 at Berlin Film Festival/main competition, they successfully lunched the new film by Teona S. Mitevska GOD EXISTS, HER NAME IS PETRYNIA where it won two prestigious awards: Ecumenical Jury Prize and Guild Film Prize.
Producer's statement:
In Dina Duma's first future film SISTERHOOD she demonstrated an enormous talent for storytelling. In her films she explores the difficulties facing the younger generation, their struggle to find direction in this modern world. We are very much aware of the fact that in Europe we miss a good quality content that explores the core of the problem of peer pressure, which became dramatically exacerbated by the tyrannical presence of social media in their lives. This lack of films prepared to go deeper in this new youth generations problems, attracted us to Dina’s world of troubled youth confined and controlled by the social media. Her directorial gift for storytelling, by using powerful images and composing memorable scenes appropriate for the atmosphere in the film while allowing for the complex emotional development of her characters inspired us to get engaged with her and to develop this important story. Dina Duma received an invitation to this year Cannes Cinefondation.
Where are we at?
Total estimated budget: 1.170,000 €
Finances pending: 1.070,000 €
Financing in place: 100,000 €
Production timeline
shooting April 2024
Production company profile
Company profile: In 2001, LABINA MITEVSKA, her sister Teona and their brother Vuk established the production company SISTERS AND BROTHER MITEVSKI. The company produced short, feature, documentary and animation films that won numerous awards on festivals worldwide. All their feature films are complex and successful European co-production projects. In 2019 at Berlin Film Festival/main competition, they successfully lunched the new film by Teona S. Mitevska GOD EXISTS, HER NAME IS PETRYNIA where it won two prestigious awards: Ecumenical Jury Prize and Guild Film Prize.