Vera Dreams of the Sea

Women do not inherit houses. In this extraordinary thriller, the threat springs directly from the corrupt heart of male-dominated Kosovar tradition.

It sounds harmless, the premise from which this film draws its slowly rising tension: an old house in the village and the question of its ownership. After the sudden death of her husband, Vera wants to leave the house to her daughter. But the construction of a new motorway causes it to rise in value. Soon unfamiliar men show up and lay claim to the property. Not a claim in the legal sense; they have their own ways of exerting pressure. The pressure grows and the threat is real, but Vera stands firm. She is a sign language interpreter in a society where women have had to remain silent for far too long. A cleverly spun, very restrained but resolutely orchestrated piece about a country in which corrupt men call the shots. Vera, this unusual heroine, traverses the blue Kosovar night, smoking. Silent and effective will her revenge be.

Director