"The Mountain" is the story of all the women who have lived, defended their home, house, children and family throughout the centuries.

We were not acting. This is our life and our story, but this is also the story of all the women who have lived through the centuries, defending their home, house, children and family with their silence and courage...

These are the words of the heroine of the film "The Mountain" and a true life heroine Mileva Gara Jovanović.

The feature-length documentary "The Mountain", after a series of world festivals and awards, had its domestic premiere last night in Podgorica, at the opening of the 17th UnderhillFest International Documentary Film Festival. The packed Njegoš Park, filled to the brim with people from the first frame and the powerful inscription "To Hold a Mountain", breathed and lived with the heroines of the film, and actually their lives - Gara and nadom. Mother and daughter. And with Sinjajevin, as a symbol of home, life, wealth, but also motherhood.

Gently and subtly, our directorial duo Biljana Tutorov i Petar Glomazic introduces the life destinies of Gara, Nada and Sinjajevina into the story itself. In over two hours, the entire life of the protagonists, their mutual love, fears, hopes, but also the struggles - for themselves and their own family, for the mountain, for Sinjajevina, against militarization and the interests of decision-makers, and in the interests of everyone, primarily the community that lives on that mountain and cherishes the tradition, culture and heritage of rising to the katuns. It would seem that many expected an extremely activist, politically engaged film, but "The Mountain" is far beyond that. Of course, in a series of layers and plots there is also the fight to preserve the largest pasture in the Balkans, while the focus of the story is Gara and Nada, their relationship, fate and life.

"I am overjoyed with this story, especially because the whole world is reacting exactly as it should. Our mountain Sinjavina is the most important thing in my life. It is not just a space or an unused place, it is a symbol of tradition, identity, survival, defiance, but also of faith. Faith in the survival of Montenegro and all our spaces, but also of faith that Sinjajevina really should remain as it is and has been for centuries," Jovanović emphasized at the end of the screening in her address to the audience.

The audience applauded almost the entire closing credits of the film with thunderous applause, and then, with respect, emotion, and gratitude, stood up to greet the film's authors and part of the large crew that worked on it, giving a particularly strong welcome to Gara and Nada.

"This is our life, our story and the story of all women throughout the centuries who lived like this, but also harder than this. About women who defended their home, house, children and family with their silence and courage. Now, when living conditions are much better than they were for me and my grandmothers, mother and ancestors, Sinjajevina should be preserved and remain as it has been for centuries," said the great Gara, synonymous with the defense of Sinjajevina in the years-long fight against the military training ground.

When the film began filming, Nada was only 12 years old. Today she is 19. The measured, modest, wise, strong girl she has grown into thanks to, among others, Gara and Sinyajevina, she expressed her gratitude to everyone who came to see the film.

"Thank you for letting us show you our story, a story from ancient times... The journey was incredible, fairytale-like, it was something new, but we managed to show it in the best way," she said.

The synopsis states that "in the remote heights of Sinjajevina, Gara and her thirteen-year-old daughter Nada return to their ancestral pastures every summer, where they tend livestock, gather medicinal herbs, and live in symbiosis with the mountain they call 'Mother'"... However, their fragile world is threatened when the Montenegrin government initiates plans to create a military training ground for NATO in the heart of this protected area.

"Gara, a mother of six children, suddenly emerges as the leader of the movement to defend Sinjajevina, and with her daughter Nada, she leads two important life battles - an ecological one, for the preservation of nature, and a personal, family one - confronting patriarchy and violence against women," the description reads.

In a conversation after the film, director Glomazić pointed out that the film "The Mountain" itself is just the tip of the iceberg, and then what is the above description...

"The film is just the tip of the iceberg, beneath which lies a huge, invisible iceberg of experience, friendship, long-term stay with the film's heroes on the mountain, and everything we went through together there, building this film and making it with a huge team that helped us," said Glomazić.

He admitted that the film changed them, but also taught them a lot.

"We have rediscovered again and again the most meaningful and beautiful things in life, which concern the simple, ordinary things and the deep humanity that connects us all and is the only thing that matters in this short moment on earth," he said.

Tutorov added that meeting Gara, Nada and other residents of Katun, as well as living in a 12-square-meter hut for seven summers, was a special experience that other people will remember. She also said that the Podgorica premiere will remain in their memories forever.

"From the very beginning, the relationship with Gara and Nada and that basic moral commitment that we made actually built the production. Through that, we chose who we would work with, but also who would finance the film. We knew that we didn't want to work with television, so that there would be no desires or pressures. We were guided by our feelings, and then, when we looked at all the layers of the story, and those that are only felt and not seen in the film, and after years and years of researching what Sinjajevina is, we realized that it was a much bigger story... Gara said it very beautifully: 'It's not just a film about me, it's a film about all of us,'" said Tutorov.

She added that in all of this there is a moment of "deeper drama" and "the intersection of the political and the intimate" that greatly inspired them.

"It's something that people all over the world experience and that actually amazes us. So, for example, when we travel, from screening to screening, that moment of victory is really incredibly important. It often happens that the audience applauds during the film. And then we realized that democracy is really in such a crisis everywhere and that it's really important for everyone to know that it's possible to fight for justice," Tutorov said.

The director and producer also emphasized that they were guided by authenticity, the beauty of the mountain, but also the entire Montenegrin epic tradition, which was confirmed by Glomazić, emphasizing that this is primarily a story about strong and brave women.

"I liked to point out in several places and say, you know, Montenegro is a small warrior country with an extremely rich treasury of epic poetry, stories, narratives, but somehow to our regret, the heroes of those stories are mostly men and their wartime merits, and women are almost non-existent. They are some nameless mothers of the heroes who appear in those stories... However, we are all well aware, and I think especially us here in this auditorium, that the true heroes of our history are women," he said.

For about half a year, festivals have been held one after another, it is not easy to count them, as well as awards. The Grand Jury Prize for the best international documentary film at the Sundance Festival, one of the world's largest film festivals, stands out, and it was awarded at the film's premiere. On the eve of the screening at Underhill, both Tutorov and Glomazić emphasized that they were especially looking forward to the screening in Montenegro.

"The film has so far been to dozens of festivals around the world, on various continents from America, Europe, and Australia. We have a new, long series of festivals waiting for us until the end of the year. The film is expected to be in competition for major awards until the end of this year, and even the beginning of next year. So, we are expected to travel around the world and show Montenegro and Sinjajevina and talk about all these topics that we thought about while making this film," Glomazić announced.

Tutorov also expressed her gratitude to the Film Center of Montenegro for its support and help in allowing Gara and Nada to travel together with the film.