Please note: This was screened in March 2022
We close out the Glasgow Film Festival 2022 with Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s debut feature film that explores the tensions of a family invaded by an outsider.
On a bright, beautiful Croatian island, tensions rise between restless teenager Julija (Gracija Filipović) and her oppressive father Ante (Leon Lučev) when an old family friend (Cliff Curtis) arrives at their home. While Ante attempts to broker a life-changing deal, their tranquil yet isolated existence leaves Julija wanting more from this influential visitor, who offers a taste of liberation throughout a weekend that becomes devoted to desire and violence.
Sparkling but sinister, Murina is a brooding coming-of-age story with a difference, laced with a symbolism that shows how the azure waters of the Adriatic are both Julija’s liberation and her prison. A commanding study of toxic masculinity, patriarchy and of a young woman whose transformation from girl to woman means deciding whether she will sink or swim.