Dina Duma’s upcoming movie “Skateboarding Is Not for Girls” caught the eye in the industry section CineLink at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. The story of a Romanian Muslim girl from Skopje, Adela, who tries to save her sister from being sold at the wedding market and dreams of joining a group of female figure skaters, has been awarded Film Center Serbia and Female Voices Award. The latter, sponsored by the Center for Slovenian Film, aims to support and promote female voices from the film industry in Southeast Europe.
“For us, filmmakers from the region, CineLink has become indispensable for the development of our new projects,” notes producer Lapina Mitevska of Sisters and Brother Mitevski, who is also behind “God Exists, Her Name Is Petrynia.”
“As we were developing our company, we were guided by the belief that it was our duty to speak frankly about the world today. To comment, fight and try to change it. I recognized those qualities in Dina’s story. It has to do with some of the countless contradictions in the world we live in.”
The film, which will be shot in April 2024, will be Duma’s second directorial after the premiere of Karlovy Vary’s “Sisterhood”.
“I had a great experience, working with non-actors [on that film] And I’m sure that’s what I need for this too,” says the Macedonian director, who will look for her characters in Roma communities and skaters.
She notes that her style includes “a certain amount of improvisation”, allowing the text to be adapted to the sensibilities of the performers.
“I always want to know their personal stories and experiences and include them in the film. This is how I create a believable cinematic world with characters made of flesh and blood.”
He has always witnessed the ongoing practice of “selling the bride” and has never forgotten it. I was shocked to discover that the tradition had spread throughout the Balkans, with the largest market operating in Nova Zagora in Bulgaria.
“Unfortunately, I am writing from personal experience. I have known about this tradition since I was the same age as my main hero.”
“I had a friend from school, from the Roma community, we were twelve and she was sold in this market to a much older fiancé. I soon stopped coming to school and never saw her again. I was very young and I couldn’t do anything, but her story stay with me.”
As the heroine of her novel fights for her sister’s future, she will always show a strong bond between them. She feels a responsibility to tell stories that address the younger generation of women, she says, those that can start a discussion: for them and with them.
There aren’t enough films coming out of Europe that talk about the new generation, or show female characters that deal with topics that are relevant today. I feel like we’re forgetting these young women and by doing that we’re forgetting our future.”
Acknowledging the skate scenes will be critical, and he is always pleased to add another title to the growing group of films finally recognizing female skaters.
She says, “I’m a huge fan of ‘Skate Kitchen’.
“These are the only moments where the characters experience freedom in the deepest way. Since we plan to start casting early, we hope to find girls who are able to skate or we will teach them. The skate park is the most important location. It is where Adela regains her inner feminine strength, where she feels It is the strongest.”
But she is determined to explore both sides of the film, in a “kind and respectful way” for both societies.
“There are more and more girls skating in the skate parks in Skopje. When I was young, this was considered a ‘male sport’ and I always wished to be part of a girl skate gang. However, what I have here is a gypsy girl from the Muslim community where no Skateboarding is allowed. It’s something that only boys can do and that’s where the nickname comes from.”
“It’s essentially a dark story. But I don’t want to make a dark movie,” she says.
“On the one hand, we are told girls that they will have to marry at a young age and become mothers, and there are rules on how to act, dress and interact with boys. On the other hand, we have the young ‘Internet generation’, but they also have rules on how to act, dress and interact with boys. .so who is really free?”
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