The Last Nomad
Documentary film by Biljana Tutorov & Petar Glomazić
Original title : Poslednji nomadi
Each summer, Vanja and his fellow shepherds lead their sheep deep into the glorious, untamed countryside of Montenegro. A 3-day journey takes them beyond the boundaries of daily civilization and into the vast, rolling wilderness of fairytale like landscapes. Finally, they reach the 2000m high pastures of Sinjajevina Mountain and summer huts they inherited from their ancestors.
But, this year’s journey is different.
They witness deforestation and dry riverbeds as private hydroelectric plants and wind farms begin to appear in the landscape. Rumors spread that this patch of grazing land in the north of Montenegro will become a NATO military polygon, a gov’t-sanctioned ground for war exercises. Vanja and his community learn that the pastures might be spoiled, their huts forcibly removed and their tradition erased forever.
Soon, they organized a series of protests on the Mountain and in town. Gathering the strength to fight back against this gov't decision, the case initially seems hopeless. They earn support from activists, but many fear the consequences of opposing the ruling party’s decision. Vanja’s neighbor Gara and her adopted daughter Nada stand up and lead a guileless protest of shepherds into the capital city. Totally alienated they wander around the city and pass a dress in a shop window worth more than their best calf. Their community is changing faster than they can compete with.
But, their luck changes when a group of scientists arrive at the summer settlement. They study nomadic agriculture, and want to help protect the environment and traditions. With the help of the scientists, shepherds hatch a plan to register their pasturland as Indigenous Cultures Conserved Areas. Soon, their case is the subject of hearings in the EU Parliament, European Commission and UNESCO. In the background, the government of Montenegro organizes the international military camp and first exercises on Sinjajevina, and the case becomes more urgent by the hour.
The film is also the story of a struggle. The crew is actively part of the arena.
“Today it’s Friday, October 22, 12 PM, the moment when the Army of Montenegro was meant to perform a mortar schilling in this very place called Marghita in Sinjajevina. Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of citizens, that have been in this location for six days defending the mountain - the announced exercise was not performed. We managed to prevent and stop it, at least temporarily. Here, you can see a group of the most faithful supporters, who managed to absent from their work. Like every afternoon, more people will come after working hours. We are inviting all citizens of Montenegro to help and join us here. We hope that this exercise will never happen, that we will manage to preserve this natural miracle, to protect local communities of shepherds which are hearding here for centuries, producing food for all of us and conserving this ecosystem. You are welcome to join this spontaneous gathering of citizens who are on the right side of history!”
After graduating in Art History from the Catholic University in Louvain (Belgium) Biljana Tutorov studied Film Anthropology at EPHE and Drama at Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacque Lecoq in Paris. She is the author of several video installations, short, feature and documentary films, video works and performances. From 1998 until 2011, she produced and directed for Swedish production company Long Film. In 2010, she founded Wake Up Films production with the idea to support the new talents from the region. Biljana established and programmed Regional competition at Free Zone Film Festival in Belgrade until the 2017. In 2018, she created the CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, a new platform for women filmmakers. She is alumna of EURODOC and Producers On The Move, a member of EDN, EWA and EFA.
Petar Glomazić was born in 1969 in Nikšić, where he finished elementary and high school. He graduated in 1994 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, majoring in aeronautical engineering. In 1996, he graduated from the RTS School for documentary authors and began working in their Educational Program Department as co-editor of the Nada Marinković Radovanović show House for Dreaming, where he designed and recorded numerous educational programs. He was CEO of Montenegro Airlines. Since 2014, he has been working as an associate producer for Wake Up Films in Novi Sad. He participated in DokSerbia-EDN 2017 documentary film workshop and in Balkan Documentary Centre Discoveries 2019 programme.