The story of the emotional and existential crisis that a young couple is going through, focusing on the lack of communication, cold relationships, spite and alienation, is presented in a new film by a young Montenegrin director. Milorad Milatović. In addition, the director told "Vijesti" that it is a generational story about millennials - to whom he himself belongs.
The short feature film "Carpet" was directed by Milatović from a script Sara Đurović, It was filmed during the summer in Podgorica, and is currently in the post-production phase.
The main characters are Tomo and Iva - a young couple who have fallen into a rut of a relationship that has become a habit, in which they are practically stuck without a true connection. Although both are dissatisfied, they do nothing to change anything.
"The two of them, like their friends in the story, belong to the emerging class of successful millennials who are at a turning point in their lives, and despite their age and success, they are quite immature and incapable of a constructive and rational approach to problems," the synopsis states.
The described state of relations and the topic itself, which problematizes alienation, passivity, but also the lack of will and commitment to the other, seems well-known to most today. However, there are few works of authorship in Montenegro that deal with this topic, especially when it comes to young people. Milatović reveals what inspired him to write a story about, practically, his generation and the challenges they face.
"The basis of the idea for the film was created several years ago when screenwriter Sara Đurović and I collaborated on my graduation film. At that point, we gave up on further development and work on the aforementioned idea due to its complexity and impracticability within the framework of a student production, and we developed a simpler production idea from which my graduation film 'Someone Third' emerged. We returned to the idea two years ago, deciding to develop it and submit it for the competition of the Film Center of Montenegro," he recalls, continuing to describe his vision of the plot.
"The film 'Carpet', as stated, tells the story of an emotional and existential crisis that a young couple is going through. It is a generational story about millennials, the generation to which I belong, and therefore I considered this story close and important in the context of our generation. The focus is on the lack of communication and cold partnership relationships, power games, pretense, spite and alienation... At the center of the story are Tomo and Iva, a couple who have fallen into a rut in a relationship that they are both dissatisfied with, and they function by inertia and without any particular emotions. Both of them, like their friends, belong to that emerging layer of successful millennials who are at a turning point in their lives, but despite their age and success, they are quite immature and incapable of a constructive and rational approach to problems, or of essential communication, compromise and willingness to change," reveals Milatović.
Speaking about the problems, challenges, and crises that arise in relationships and lives, Milatović notes that they also depend on and change in relation to time and society.
"I think that personal and emotional crises are largely conditioned by life circumstances and the ills of the modern times we live in. Unlike in the past, where crises were far more visible on the surface and of an existentialist type, today, it seems to me, they are largely conditioned by the modern age and alienation. We live in a time when we constantly communicate, but we understand each other less and less in essence. The modern age and social networks teach us to be self-sufficient, to constantly work on ourselves, our success, and the like, and in this individualistic race, we lose the sense of community, closeness, and communication. Love and partnership relationships become collateral damage to this value system that measures everything through performance and results," says the director, commenting:
"Under the pressure of social media and the capitalist ideal of a 'successful life,' people are constantly striving for something higher - a better job, a better appearance, a better relationship. There is always the next level, the next goal, the next version of ourselves. This creates a vicious circle of dissatisfaction, because capitalism is based precisely on the feeling of lack - that we are never fulfilled enough and that we can always do more. The result is constant dissatisfaction and the feeling that we are living superficially. People suppress crises because they do not fit into the narrative of happiness and success that we strive for. In fact, this suppression and this need to maintain the illusion of stability only deepens the inner emptiness. In this sense, today's crises are not necessarily dramatic on the outside, because they take place beneath the surface of each individual who is surrounded by a world that constantly reminds them that they must be 'better.' The film aims to capture precisely this layer - that quiet and constant dissatisfaction of a modern person who has everything, but feels that something is still fundamentally missing," explains the young and successful director.
All of this is incorporated into the film "Carpet", the title of which evokes a well-known metaphor...
"The goal of the film, on the one hand, is to examine the problems and dynamics of male-female relationships in a contemporary context, as well as the coldness in the relationship and the distance that almost every couple in a long-term relationship faces. On the other hand, I want to examine the emptiness, frustration and helplessness of the generation to which I belong, as well as the deep unfulfillment and dissatisfaction, despite the fact that everything on the outside indicates that there is no reason for this, because all existentialist and conformist urges have been satisfied. The reason for this is usually the expectations of society in today's 'instagram', individualistic and capitalist world in which a person is never completely satisfied with themselves, but constantly strives for something better and higher, as I have already said... Of course, as the title itself suggests, this is a story about the impossibility, or perhaps rather the hypocrisy of today's communication and relationships, as well as the pushing of problems under the carpet, all with the aim of maintaining an appearance of brilliance, success, harmony and idyll on the outside," he says. Milatovic.
The film also stars prominent Montenegrin actors of the younger generation: Jelena V. Djukic, Danilo Milovanovic, Lidija Kordic i Vule Marković. The director of photography is Dora Caldarovic, scenographer Angela Bozovic, and costume designer Mia Đurović. He is a producer Vuk Perovic.
It could be said that the film conveys an intimate atmosphere filled with tension and personal ambitions, perhaps a lack of empathy for others and a lack of capacity for love, while the small crew on set functioned differently - closely and as a team.
“That's right. A small crew was involved in the process, and most of the film's action, and therefore the filming itself, took place in the cramped environment of an apartment in Podgorica. This made the atmosphere on the film shoot intimate and friendly. I had the privilege of working with collaborators who are also my friends, and this greatly facilitated the filming process. I had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the collaborators and the author's team (screenwriter Sara Đurović, director of photography Dora Čaldarović, actress Jelena Đukić) before, which made communication easier and simpler on this film, and I had the privilege of collaborating with some of the crew (producer Vuk Perović, set designer Angela Božović, costume designer Mia Đurović, actors Danilo Milovanović, Lidija Kordić and Vule Marković) for the first time. Through this process, we, in a jargon-like way, 'clicked' and additionally connected and became friends. In short, I am very satisfied with the process, which went without any major ups and downs, and I am grateful and pleased "To the collaborators without whom this would not be possible," Milatović points out.
Despite all this, they also faced challenges. Milatović reveals one unusual one they faced while searching for a special member of the team...
"The biggest challenge in preparation, and in the work itself, was probably finding and working with the kitten... But, we were lucky in that we found a suitable kitten a few days before filming that was very cheerful, that could not be scared, and therefore we got what we wanted from the shots in which it was present," he said.
"Carpet" is being produced by the "Kino" company from Podgorica. The film previously received support from the Film Center of Montenegro in the competition for co-financing short feature films for 2024 and support from the Capital City of Podgorica - Secretariat for Culture in the competition for 2025. Milatović also talks about how the final phase of work is going and what can be expected...
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"The film is currently in the post-production phase. It's ungrateful to talk about the end of the process because we are currently nearing the end of editing, and we haven't closed the financial structure and budget to bring the entire post-production smoothly and without problems. If everything goes well, I expect that we could have the final product by the end of this year, or the beginning of next year at the latest. In that case, and in the case of quick acceptance at one of the appropriate festivals, we would optimally have the premiere in the spring of next year. If the future process goes slower than desired, then it could be in the summer or autumn, but in any case I believe it will be during 2026," he says honestly.
Although young, he already has numerous successes and notable achievements, and the director also reveals what his plans and obligations are in the coming period.
"I am preparing to shoot my short master's film, which I will use to complete my studies at the Academy of Dramatic Arts (ADU) in Zagreb. I will shoot it in November, and it is a short film titled 'Tooth', which is an adaptation of the short story 'Eight' by a renowned Macedonian writer." Yellow Bužarovska. "I am also putting out a call for my first feature film, but it is a process that will take time... At the same time, I am looking at business options in the industry on professional sets, as an assistant or assistant director," Milatović lists.
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