HEAVENS ABOVE | SA NEBESA (original title)

2019 | Dark Comedy |110 min

In Production

Inspired by three stories from French writer Marcel Aymé

Humanity is hungry for God… but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

 

The script is divided in three sub-plots, all linked but set in three different time period. 
 

The first one follows the story of Stojan in 1993, a poor but good man who is a dog catcher from Belgrade. He lives his peaceful life in a refugee camp with his wife Nada and his daughter Julija, until one day, a halo appears above the man’s head. Seen as a Saint by everyone around him, Nada sees it as a curse and desperately wants to make the halo go away. She convinces her husband to act as a sinner: he starts drinking, eating excessively, envy his rich neighbour, he has sexual intercourse with Nada’s best friend, beats his wife and speaks badly to her and his daughter, becomes a pimp, make money out of people’s faith… The halo remains however, while Stojan has become a completely different person, a cruel and ruthless man.
 

The second story is set in 2001, and focuses on the mentally-retarded Gojko whose sole desire is to speak to the phone with Saint Petka. When his boss, Petar Markovic, denies his request, Gojko kills him and his wife, and is sentenced to death. As Father Atanasije comes to offer absolution, he lends his phone to the prisoner who seems to have a conversation with the Saint. The next morning, as the guards arrive inside Gojko’s cell, they only find a toddler. The Father comes to the Markovic’s house to find that the couple is alive; it is too late however, as baby Gojko is shot.
 

The last story takes place in 2018, and follows Papic, a painter which tries having his work displayed in an art gallery ran by Julija. The discovery by the bum Stinky that the painter’s canvases are actually nutritious and can feed the population is a shock for the nation, led by Stojan now President. This type of nutritious art multiples everywhere in the country, ending in a general state of overeating and mass hysteria. 

Directed by: Srdjan Dragojevic

Screenplay by: Srdjan Dragojevic

Produced by: Delirium, Serbia; Ma.Ja.De. Fiction, Germany; Sektor Film, Macedonia; Forum Ljubljana, Slovenia; Studio Dim, Croatia