‘Planina’ Turns Sinjajevina’s Struggle Into a Double European Film Awards Contender

‘Planina’ Turns Sinjajevina’s Struggle Into a Double European Film Awards Contender
The documentary “Planina” (To Hold a Mountain) has been nominated for two European Film Awards: Best European Documentary and Best European Film. The nominations were announced on Nov. 14 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece.

The second category places the documentary alongside nominated fiction and animated films for the European Film Academy’s main award. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Athens on Jan. 16, 2027.

Directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, the film follows Mileva Gari Jovanović and her youngest daughter, Nada Stanišić, as they defend Sinjajevina, one of the Balkans’ largest mountain pastures, and their traditional way of life from plans to turn the area into a military training ground. The film was shot over seven years, from 2018 to 2025.

Tutorov described the nomination as an honor, saying the film is about “a special mountain, a special mother, [and] a special daughter,” as well as “love as a possible political tool.” Glomazić said the recognition made him “proud and happy,” while emphasizing the film’s themes of “violence against women and violence against nature.”

Both the pro-government and opposition publications presenting the news cast the nominations as a major cultural success, though their headlines used different emphases: one called it “good news for culture,” while the other described it as a “major success.”

The nominations follow the film’s Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and its Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Documentary. Serbian audiences will first see “Planina” at the Festival of Auteur Film in November, with a cinema release planned for early 2027, followed by availability on HBO and HBO Max.