About Mother-child: “prenatal” conversation
To begin this study, the author conducted research and interviewed recently pregnant mothers in order to acquire insight into the entire course of pregnancy and the relationship between mother and child from conception to childbirth. Besides documentary material, the play also features a fictional part which represents memories of the mothers whose children have grown up, the aim of which is to shed light on the traces that remain in a mother’s memory when a substantial period of time lapses after her pregnancy.
Complete text (English version, in pdf)
Music Cue Sheet - Mother-child “prenatal” conversation
Credits
Author - idea, text, the second fictional part of the drama, recording of the documentary material by director and editor • Melina Koljević
Co-author of the text of the first fictional part of the drama • Vesna Perić
Coordinator of the Project Creative Europe for RTS, Radio Belgrade • Nikoleta Dojčinović
Composer of the original music and soundtrack associate • Marija Ćirić
Sound design by • Zoran Uzelac
Proofreading of the fictional part of the drama by • Nataša Šuljagić
Duration • 39’ 57’’
Première • 12/05/2021
Actresses in the first and second fictional part of the drama • Marija, the first actress: Marija Ćirić, Branka, the second actress: Branka Pujić
Interviewees in the documentary part • Mothers: Andrijana Stojković, Jelena Stanković, Iva Plemić Divjak, Jelena Graovac, Milica Mima Trifunović, Petra Savić, Sandra Jovanović
Director of Victimology Society of Serbia Jasmina Nikolić appearing as a guest
Funded by • Radio Television of Serbia
Supported by • the Ministry of Culture and Information of Serbia
Biographies
Melina Koljević is screenplay writer, editor and director in Radio Belgrade Drama Programme Department.
Graduated in 1987 from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, Department of World literature with literary theory, where she obtained her Magister’s degree.
In 1995, she graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Theatre and Radio Directing Department.
Cinematography: Co-screenwriter for the film “THE TRAP” (2006), Film première on BERLINALE (2007), Three national screenplay awards, including FIPRESCI Jury Award (2007), The film was among 9 nominees for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award (2008), Co-screenwriter for the film “CIRCLES” (2010), First prize for a developing script at Atelier Pitching Forum, CANNES (2010), Sundance Film Festival, UTAH, USA, the first award in the international film contest (2013), BERLINALE, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury in the Forum Programme (2013), Three national screenplay awards, including FIPRESCI Jury Award (2013), The first prize for the screenplay on FAJR Film Festival in TEHRAN, IRAN (2014), Annual NIPKOW residence grant for the screenplay “Family” (2015), Became a member of EFA (European Film Academy) (2015), Co-screenwriter for the Slovenian film IVAN, première in TALIN FILM FESTIVAL, the first prize for screenplay in the Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorož (2017), Residence grant in Finland by Kone Foundation for the screenplay “From Christmas to Easter” (2019), Screenwriter of the short feature film “When I am at Home”, Brooklyn Film Festival; the film received a special recognition in SEE Film Festival in Los Angeles (2020).
Radio drama: 1996-2002 Radio Directing Department Assistant lecturer, Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade; 2009-2012 Visiting assistant professor at the Radio Directing Department, Academy of Arts, Novi Sad; From 2003, director and editor in Radio Belgrade Drama Department; 2002 directed "The Danube Swabians" produced by Goethe Institute; 2006 directed the drama "Swabian" presented in PRIX EUROPA festival; 2012 directed the drama "Jerma" presented in PRIX ITALIA festival; 2015 directed the drama "Enemy’s Holy Scripture", to be presented in the PRIX EUROPA festival.
Vesna Perić, PhD is dramatist, screenplay writer, Radio Belgrade Drama Programme Department Editor-in-Chief.
Graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 2003, Dramaturgy Department, where she obtained Magister’s degree and then defended her PhD thesis on "Theory of narrative constructions in post-Yugoslav film" at the Department of Film and Media Studies in 2016. As of 2002, she works as a film critic at the Second channel of Radio Belgrade, and as of 2010 as editor in Drama Programme Department. As a representative of Radio Belgrade in PRIX ITALIA festival, she was a member of the Jury in the Radio Drama Category in 2010 and 2019, and in 2021 in the category Documentary Drama and Feature Story. She is the author of 13 radio dramas produced by Radio Belgrade Drama Programme Department. She published film reviews and essays in Culture Column of Politika daily paper (2007 – 2012). She writes screenplays for sitcoms, theatre plays, and short stories which are published in Serbian and foreign magazines. Her play “It’s not her fault” was awarded at the regional contest of the Hartefact Foundation in 2012 and performed for the first time at Bitef Theatre in 2015. As editor-in-chief of Drama Programme Department, she is in charge of producing about 60 radio dramas that are broadcasted by Radio Belgrade each year.
Marija Ćirić, PhD, full professor, head of the Department of Music in the Media at the Faculty of Philology and Arts at the University of Kragujevac.
She obtained her PhD degree in Theory of Arts and Media and the title of Doctor of Arts in Polymedia Art at Interdisciplinary studies of the University of Arts in Belgrade. Her rich experience in the field of media – cooperation with the Serbian Public Broadcasting Service RTS (Drama Department of Radio Belgrade and Television) ‒ has resulted in participation in international festivals (Prix Italia, Prix Europa, Premios Ondas, Birds Eye View, Balkan Music and Art, Prix Marulic, Grand Prix Nova, Prix Bohemia, Rose D'or...). She is the author of numerous radiophonic works and the winner of Vitomir Bogić award for exceptional contribution to the art of radiophony (given by RTS, the Drama Department of Radio Belgrade). Ms. Ćirić is one of (two) screenwriters for a cycle of four television films dedicated to Serbian/ Yugoslav composers (produced by RTS, 2015‒2020): the film Binički was awarded in the category of Music Programme at the international festival Prix Circom in 2016. She published a number of theoretical papers in Serbia and abroad. She is the author of the book Visible Spaces of Music, the first published scientific monograph on film music written in Serbian.
Zoran Uzelac is a sound designer. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 2006, Department of Sound Recording and Design.
In 1993, he worked as a sound recorder in Radio Politika, and as of 2004 in Radio Belgrade. Since 2002, Mr. Uzelac cooperated with the most renowned composer of film music Zoran Simjanović. As a music recorder in Dolby Digital 5.1 system, he gave his contribution to the films “The Cordon”, directed by Goran Marković (2002), “Loving Glances”, by Srđan Karanović (2002), “Falling in the Paradise” by Miloš Radović (2003), “Midwinter Night’s Dream” by Goran Paskaljević (2004), “The Tour” by Goran Marković (2009), “Besa” by Srđan Karanović (2010), and a number of Serbian and foreign theatre plays and television works for which music was composed by Zoran Simjanović. As a sound designer, he worked on the documentaries “The Unit” by TV B92 (2006) and “The Fall of Krajina” by RTS (2007). He composed original music for the said films, as well as for the documentaries “Assassination” by RTS (2008), “Bombing Campaign” by RTS (2009) and “October 5th – the final settlement” by RTS (2010). He works in Radio Belgrade Drama Programme since 2013.