Montenegrin-Serbian documentary film "The Mountain" (int. title "To Hold a Mountain") directed by Biljana Tutorov i Petar Glomazić will have its world premiere on January 26, 2026 at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the prestigious World Cinema Documentary Competition. This program showcases the most daring and exceptional achievements of contemporary documentary filmmaking by filmmakers from around the world. The film was made with the support of the Film Center of Montenegro (2018 and 2021).
The film was shot on Mount Sinjajevina in northern Montenegro, at the location of the Okrugljak katun and its wider surroundings, over a period of seven years (from 2018 to 2025). The producer in Montenegro is Petar Glomazić for Ardor Films, and the associate producer is Velisa Popovic za CUT-UP.
In the remote heights of Sinjajevina, the largest grazing area in the Balkans, a mother and daughter proudly defend their mountain and nomadic herding tradition from the formation of a NATO military training ground. Mother and daughter are bound by an unusual love, but also bitter memories.
The first international military exercise was held in Sinjajevina in September 2019. Military maneuvers began in the heart of the pasture, without any prior consultation with the herding communities that have used this pasture for centuries. Race (59), mother of six, local community leader in the fight to protect the mountain, and her youngest daughter Nada (13) are fighting two important life battles – an ecological one, for the preservation of nature, and a personal, family one – confronting patriarchy and violence against women.
On the occasion of the premiere screening at the Sundance Festival, the directors stated: "We are very happy that the film will have its premiere at Sundance, which is one of the best possible platforms for launching an auteur documentary. Our film is an ambitious auteur film, but it grew out of our activism, which gave the film an ethical framework. The global visibility that Sundance provides is invaluable in order to widely discuss the very important topics that Gara and Nada's dramas connect - militarization, ecology, (lack of) women's rights. We are grateful to the entire community of herders on Sinjajevina, who welcomed us most warmly and with whom we shared years of joint efforts to protect this mountain and make this film."
The film's creative team consists of screenwriters and directors Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, director of photography. Eva Kraljevic, editor George Cragg, author of original music Drasko Adzic, sound designer Julij Zornik, while he was in charge of color correction Emil SvetlikThe film is produced by Biljana Tutorov, executive producer. Megan Gelstein i Bianca Oana, as well as producers Petar Glomazić, Quentin Laurent i Rok Biček, co-producer Dijana Cetina Mladjenovic and associate producer Veliša Popović. The main protagonists in the film are Mileva Gara Jovanovic i Nada Stanišić, and there are also Rajka Radonjic, Ljiljana Saranovic and others.
According to screenwriter, director and producer Biljana Tutorov, the film was conceived as a kind of existentialist fairy tale or feminist western opera: "I was inspired by our powerful female protagonists who were true partners in the film process and beyond, their organic relationship to nature with which they live in symbiosis, the cyclical dramaturgy/choreography of their lives, the emotional layers of the story in which we participated throughout seven seasons and almost 230 days of stay in the mountains."
Screenwriter, director and producer Petar Glomazić, although he spent his entire life in the city, had the privilege of growing up in a family firmly connected to its roots and rural life in the rugged Montenegrin mountains: "Driven by my passion for telling stories, I wanted to present to the audience this fairy-tale world in which nature and man are still inextricably linked and where simple human life allows us to easily perceive the fundamental and universal values of our existence: love, solidarity, sacrifice for others, modesty, tireless work. Our protagonists appeared before us as timeless characters of ancient drama."
The film was made with the support of the Film Center of Montenegro, the Film Center of Serbia, CNC France - Cinéma du Monde, the Slovenian Film Center, the Croatian Audiovisual Center, the PACA Fund of the South of France Region, RTV Slovenia, the Tax Shelter Belgium program, the InMaat Foundation, the Doc Society Climate Story Fund, the Uniqua See Future Foundation, the Catapult Film Fund, Chicken & Egg Films, the Diane Weyermann fellowship, the IDA Enterprise Grant, as well as the Council of Europe and EURIMAGES.
Petar Glomazić graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, majoring in Aerospace Engineering, and worked as an aviation expert in civil aviation for more than 25 years. In 1996, he also graduated from the RTS Documentary School and worked as an assistant editor in the Educational Program Editorial Office. Since 2014, he has been entering the world of film production as an associate producer in the production company Wake Up Films from Novi Sad, and in 2021, he founded the production company Ardor Films. He is a member of the DAE - Documentary Association of Europe and the IDA - International Documentary Association. He received the prestigious inaugural Diane Weyermann Fellowship in 2023. "The Mountain" is his directorial debut.
After graduating in art history from the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), Biljana Tutorov studied visual anthropology at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and acting at the Jacques Lecoq Academy. In Novi Sad, she founded the independent production company Wake Up Films, as well as CIRCLE - a training initiative for female directors and producers from all over the world. She is among the first recipients of the prestigious Diane Weyermann Fellowship, an alumna of the EURODOC and EAVE programs, a member of the DokSrbija association, the IDA International Documentary Association, the DAE Council - Documentary Association of Europe and the European Film Academy.
The upcoming edition of the Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 22 to February 1, 2026. This is the most important American independent film festival and provides an opportunity for promising filmmakers working in auteur, documentary and independent films to promote their projects and attract the attention of a wider audience. Some of the most respected contemporary directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson i Daren Aronofsky, had their big global breakthrough at Sundance.
Bonus video:
