Serbian filmmaker Stefan Djordjevic is preparing his second feature, The Leaves Hang Trembling, a hybrid documentary that explores the impact of a teacher’s life and work on those around him. Last week, the project won the top prize at the Crossroads Co-Production Forum in the industrial section of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Agora.
Like Djordjevic’s feature debut, Talk to Me, which premiered at this year’s Rotterdam Film Festival before taking home the top prize at the Sarajevo International Film Festival, The Leaves is a cinematic ode to the director’s late mother, whom Djordjevic described as “the most important person in my life.”
Djordjevic’s first film – an intensely personal attempt to reflect on his mother’s death – earned a glowing review from Guy Lodge of Variety, who praised the documentary as a “brilliant” work through grief that “with wit, grace and imagination…weaves fact, fiction and memory together to create a heartbreaking tribute to[the director’s]late mother”.
“The Leaves Hang Trembling” is that film’s sister work, expanding its reach beyond the four walls of the Djordjevic family. “‘Talk to Me’ was about how[my mother]influenced my family,” the director told Variety. “But in ‘The Leaves Hang Trembling’ you can see how she influenced others as well.”
The film chronicles the life of Djordjevic’s mother, Negrica Neca Djordjevic, who was hired in 2002 at a local elementary school where she worked for more than a decade as a beloved teacher, community leader, and president of the teachers’ union. Fourteen years later, she was fired for no reason, the director said, leaving her “mentally devastated” and feeling that her “trust in community and loyalty had been betrayed.”
But in her darkest moments, Neka students stood up to support her and protect her, reigniting her hope and faith in her community. “The Leaves Hang Trembling” uses direct quotes from her diary and letters, as well as simultaneous recordings of events as they unfold, to tell the story of an inspiring woman who “gave so much of her energy, and so much of her dedication and compassion and love” to her family, students, and community.
Director Djordjevic said the film “explores what it means to care beyond the rules and connect with others in lasting ways,” while inviting audiences to “feel the courage and compassion of teachers, witness the quiet strength of daily care, and come away believing in the transformative power of human connection.”
“The Leaves Hang Trembling” comes against the backdrop of widespread student-led protests that have turned Serbians against President Aleksandar Vucic over the past year. The situation began last November after a railway station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people, sparking anger among many Serbs at the region’s endemic culture of corruption and impunity as the cause of the disaster.
At an industry awards ceremony in Thessaloniki this week, where The Leaves Hang Trembling won top honors at the Crossroads Co-Production Forum, Belgrade-based producer Dragana Jovovic of Non-Aligned Films, who co-produced the film with Restart’s Vanja Jambrovic, dedicated the award to Dijana Furka, the mother of the murdered 27-year-old Stefan. In the tragedy of Novi Sad. Earlier this month, Furka launched a hunger strike in front of the Serbian parliament, demanding a “serious investigation” into the events in Novi Sad and demanding “the release of all students arrested during the protests,” Jovovic said.
Djordjevic has said that he wants to make a “universal film,” but he also recognizes that there is a connection between the events of “Leaves Tremble” and Serbia’s current political crisis. Since last year, many Serbian teachers and university professors have been summarily dismissed for supporting student movements. In many cases, students rallied to defend their teachers, Djordjevic noted.
That’s why the director sees “Shivering Leaves” not only as a testament to his late mother and the lives she touched, but also as part of his country’s “collective memory,” a history that continues to be written in real time.
Djordjevic said the events depicted in the film “didn’t happen nine years ago.” “It’s still happening, and it’s happening on a bigger level.”
Thessaloniki Film Festival runs from October 30th to November 9th.
