Guardians of the Formula

Guardians of the Formula (Serbian: Čuvari formule, Serbian Cyrillic: Чувари формуле) is a 2023 Serbian drama film directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić and written by Vuk Ršumović.[1] It is based on the novel The Case of Vinča by Goran Milašinović, who was also a collaborator on the screenplay.[2]

Guardians of the Formula
Directed byDragan Bjelogrlić
Written byVuk Ršumović
Dragan Bjelogrlić
Ognjen Sviličić
Produced byMiroslav Mogorović
Goran Bjelogrlić
Nataša Višić
Dragan Bjelogrlić
Dragan Šolak
StarringRadivoje Bukvić
Alexis Manenti
CinematographyIvan Kostić
Edited byMilena Predić
Music byAleksandar Ranđelović
Production
companies
Distributed byArt Vista
Release date
  • 4 August 2023 (2023-08-04)
Running time
140 min
CountriesSerbia
Slovenia
North Macedonia
Montenegro
LanguagesSerbian
French

The film follows the aftermath of the 1958 reactor incident at Vinča Nuclear Institute and the subsequent treatment of irradiated Yugoslav physicists at the Curie Institute in Paris, which involved the first bone marrow grafts between unrelated donors and hosts ever made in the world.[3][4]

Plot

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In the midst of the Cold War crisis in October 1958, a group of scientists at the Vinča Nuclear Institute implemented a secret project led by professor Dragoslav Popović. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they are exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and are taken by the Yugoslav secret police to the Curie clinic in Paris for treatment.

The French medical team led by professor Georges Mathé concludes that their condition is critical and that their days are numbered. Although Mathé has dedicated his whole life to fighting against the possession of nuclear weapons and deeply despises the project which the Yugoslav scientists worked on, he proposes to carry out, for the first time in history, the delicate and uncertain intervention of replacing the bone marrow of irradiated patients.[3]

Cast

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Production

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Filming lasted for about a year at authentic locations in Serbia, Slovenia and France in the period between 2022 and 2023.[5][6][7]

Release

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The world premiere of the film was held on August 4, 2023 at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland as part of the prestigious Piazza Grande program,[8][9][10] where it won two awards: the Variety Award for best film in the selection Piazza Grande and the Green Leopard Award given to films with the most compelling message.[11] On August 15, 2023, the film was screened out of competition as part of the main program of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, while the premiere in Serbia was held on October 24, 2023.[12][13][14][15][16]

The film has been seen by 100,000 viewers in Serbian cinemas as of November 9th, 2023.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "РТС :: Филм и ТВ :: Екранизација првог романа о српском Чернобиљу поверена Бјелогрлићу и Ршумовићу". www.rts.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  2. ^ "DRAGAN BJELOGRLIĆ O NAJVEĆOJ TAJNI JUGOSLAVIJE! Počinje snimanje novog filma Lančana reakcija: Sprema pravi HIT!". kurir.rs (in Serbian). 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ^ a b Nikolić, Bratislav (2023-07-05). "Svetska premijera novog filma Dragana Bjelogrlića u Lokarnu: Bjela - Ovo je izuzetno priznanje za sve nas". NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  4. ^ "Vinca reactor accident, 1958". www.johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  5. ^ "Pala prva klapa celovečernjeg igranog filma "Lančana reakcija" u režiji Dragana Bjelogrlića - FCS". www.fcs.rs (in Serbian). 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  6. ^ Tanjug (2022-05-30). "Dragan Bjelogrlić o "Lančanoj reakciji": Filmove pravim za publiku i komšije, a ne za neki imaginarni žiri festivala". Euronews.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  7. ^ "ХЛАДНИ РАТ ЈОШ НИЈЕ ЗАВРШЕН: "Новости" на снимању "Ланчане реакције" у Архиву Југославије који "глуми" париски Институт "Кири"". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  8. ^ "Čuvari formule". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  9. ^ "Svetska premijera novog filma Dragana Bjelogrlića "Čuvari formule" na "Filmskom festivalu u Lokarnu" - FCS". www.fcs.rs (in Serbian). 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  10. ^ Koprivica, Jelena (2023-07-05). "Ovo je veliki uspeh za domaći film: Pantelić o svetskoj premijeri Bjelinih "Čuvara formule" u Lokarnu". NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  11. ^ "Dve nagrade za Bjelogrlićev novi film "Čuvari formule" u Lokarnu (VIDEO) - Kultura - Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  12. ^ Srbija, Euronews (2023-07-21). "Bjelogrlićevi "Čuvari formule" stižu i na Sarajevo Film Festival". Euronews.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  13. ^ "РТС :: Филм и ТВ :: Горан Милашиновић: Наш филм има поруку, зато је победио". www.rts.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  14. ^ "Zakazana bioskopska premijera filma "Čuvari formule" - TVINEMANIA" (in Serbian). 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  15. ^ Stojanović, Lola (2023-10-24). "(VIDEO) "OVO JE UBEDLJIVO NAJTEŽI FILM, SEDAM GODINA SMO RADILI" Bjelogrlić na premijeri "Čuvari formule", otkrio šta očekuje". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  16. ^ "GLEDAOCI ODUŠEVLJENI PRIČOM O POŽRTVOVANJU: Premijera filma "Čuvari formule" - događaj koji će se pamtiti". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  17. ^ Stojanović, Lola (2023-09-11). "Novi veliki uspeh "Čuvara formule": Film pogledalo 100.000 LJUDI u bioskopima širom Srbije". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
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