Wake Me

by Marko Šantić

Zbudi me, 2022, fiction, digital DCP, 2,39:1/2,35:1, c, 85 min
Finished

SI, HR, RS

Rok is suffering from memory loss, which erased his recollection of his recent life. Seeking familiarity, he returns to his hometown, where he learns that his brother is following the same wrong path as him.

screenwriters
Marko Šantić, Goran Vojnović, Sara Hribar
director
Marko Šantić
producers
Danijel Hočevar, Zala Opara
co-producers
Jure Bušić, Dimče Stojanovski, Stefan Orlandić
director of photography
Ivan Zadro
music composer
Jan Vysocky
film editor
Vladimir Gojun
production designer
Marco Juratovec
costume designer
Tina Bonča
key make-up artist
Lija Ivančič
sound designers
Ognjen Popić, Zoran Maksimović, Julij Zornik

featuring
Jure Henigman, Timon Šturbej, Nataša Barbara Gračner, Živa Selan, Jurij Drevenšek, Benjamin Krnetić, Tamara Avguštin, Blaž Setnikar, Andrej Murenc, Nebojša Pop Tasić, Jure Ivanušič, Alenka Kraigher, Vito Weis, Andrijana Boškoška Batič, Vid Klemenc

production
Vertigo
co-production
Jaka Produkcija, Living Pictures
in collaboration with
Hippocampe Production, Film Studio Viba Film, 001
co-funding
Slovenian Film Centre, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Film Center Serbia, SACEM, The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Eurimages, Creative Europe - MEDIA

Vertigo
Danijel Hočevar
info@vertigo.si

Marko Šantić is a Croatian-born, Slovenian-based film director and screenwriter. His short feature film Good Luck Nedim (2006) received several international awards, which include the Heart of Sarajevo for the best short film, Tribeca FF Student Visionary Award and EFA nomination in the short film category among others. Šantić’s previous feature-length works include a TV feature Seduce Me (2013), which was internationally premiered at 29th Warsaw Film Festival, receiving Special Mention in 1-2 competition. The film was also the Slovenian submission for the 87th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2014. With Sara Hribar, who is one of the co-writers of Wake Me, Šantić co-directed a feature film Lada Kamenski (2018), which had an international premiere at the Montreal Film Festival and has received 11 awards. Wake Me (2022) is Šantić's fourth film and his first solo cinema feature.

“In recent years, the world has witnessed historical revisionism - the reinterpretation of history. Younger generations spend much more time on the Internet, where they acquire incorrect historical facts. Influenced by this, it seems that the image of history that they’re creating is completely different from what it once used to be. Due to memory loss, the film's main character, Rok, doesn’t remember his problematic past - and, upon returning to his hometown, he begins uncovering his old “demons”. His amnesia caused by a head injury represents today’s contemporary individuals who generally know nothing about sharing a common past and who are more easily pushed into hostility towards other cultures and fellow citizens. This general ignorance of history is something that’s affecting us all, and it’s exactly what my fourth film is about.”

WP:
PÖFF - Talin Black Nights Film Festival, Critics' Picks Competition, 2022