Behind the Glass

Colour, 35 mm
Croatia, 2008, 80 min
WP – World premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

Problems which have been brewing for years for successful 35-year-old architect Nikola Jeren come to a head in the space of five days. A life of lies and emotional turmoil has taken its toll on the man, he has no self-respect and doesn’t know what he really wants. His long-term mistress Ana, a work colleague, is weary from all the years they’ve had to conceal their relationship; she wants him to get a divorce. His wife Maja, the mother of Nikola’s 8-year-old daughter, is also pressing him to finally come to a decision. Nikola is imprisoned in a situation which cannot be resolved: whatever he does, he’ll only hurt everyone he ever loved even more. Can something decide for us, something we’re no longer used to expecting in life – a tragic coincidence? Director Zrinko Ogresta doesn’t judge the characters in his intimate psychological drama, but he presents a sensitive yet harsh view of their weaknesses. At the same time, however, he poses a vital question: to what extent are we responsible masters of our own destiny and thus also architects of the world we inhabit?

About the director

Zrinko Ogresta (b. 1958, Virovitica, Croatia) graduated from the film and television department of Zagreb’s Academy of Dramatic Arts (1982) and he already began making a name for himself with his short films which won a series of awards (e.g. Stormy Night / Olujna noć, 1987; Forbidden Game / Zabranjena igračka/, 1989; Leo and Brigita / Leo i Brigita, 1989; or Red Dust / Crvena prašina, 1999). His feature film debut was Fragment of My Childhood (Krhotine, 1991), nominated for the European Film Award. After the film Washed Out (Isprani, 1995), which was selected for competition at the KVIFF, he was hailed for his reflection of Croatian society Here (Tu, 2003), which won him the Special Jury Prize at Karlovy Vary in 2004 and the Grand Prix for Best European Film at the Denver IFF in 2004. He made a series of documentaries during the war. He teaches film direction at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb.