Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #91. Vladimir Perišić’s La honte

La honte

While he did contribute a segment in the Bridges of Sarajevo omnibus, Ordinary People‘s Vladimir Perišić will have taken more than a dozen years between his debut film (which was featured in the Critics’ Week section in Cannes) and his sophomore project. The French title La honte translates to the word “shame” but it’s currently known as Lost Country which makes more sense as it explores the fallout of a Belgrade when Milošević’s Socialist Party took the first steps to destroy his own country. A co-production of France, Serbia, Luxembourg and Croatia, Alice Winocour co-wrote the screenplay and the film was shot on 16mm with the great Jasna Đuričić (Quo Vadis, Aida?) toplining the project. Marija Škaričić, Jovan Ginić and Boris Isaković complete the cast.

Gist: Belgrade, 1996. Stefan is 14. Following the victory of the opposition party in the elections, Milošević’s Socialist Party falsifies the results. As the party decides to annul the vote, the country enters a turbulent period. Stefan’s mother Marklena is the spokesperson for the party. Because of his love for his mother, Stefan cannot trust his best friend Milan telling him that his very mother is involved in election fraud. Street protests explode.

Release Date/Prediction: We see this as an Un Certain Regard section selection.