THE BLACK PIN / IGLA ISPOD PRAGA

Father Peter is afraid that universe is indifferent. God no longer intervenes. His wife has abandoned him. His son only rebels against him. And his mother seldom recognizes him thanks to Alzheimer's. All Peter wants is a moment of peace but he becomes an obstacle to a large property sale in his seaside parish. And the group of colorful, but also vengeful villagers decides to chase him away. No peace here for Father Peter. They stir up the rest of the superstitious village making them believe that Peter is the cause of all troubles on the peninsula. Their war escalates on a funeral of a supposed witch that they turn into surreal mayhem.

“Once I heard an anecdote about a priest who got ridiculed on a funeral. This incident inspired the tragicomedy of The Black Pin. Screenwriting became a search for kindness towards people who, while flawed, still possess a noble side. I wanted to juxtapose the idyllic nature with absurdity of human conflicts – thus creating a narrative contrast. Main trait of the process was creating a distance between characters through framing, editing and camera movement.

Ready-made sets were chosen to build up authenticity of the story,while creating a romantic selective realism. Despite the fun I am poking with humorous characters and events, I wanted to explore moments in life in which we lose our illusions. Moments that question our expectations set up by society, religion and culture. And throughout them Peter is fighting the horrible feeling of not belonging to the only place where one must belong -home.“

Ivan Marinović