Photos: As Far As I Can Walk
New York, June 13, 2023 – Karlovy Vary 2021 Grand Prize Winner As Far As I Can Walk – original title Strahinja Banovic – by Serbian Oscar-nominated director Stefan Arsenijevic will get its US Theatrical Premiere release on June 30 at IFC Center in New York.
There will be a special appearance by the film team at the theatrical release for Q&As on 6/30, 7/1 & 7/2 with director Stefan Arsenijevic, cinematographer Jelena Stankovic, lead actor Ibrahim Koma and producer Miroslav Mogorovic.
As Far As I Can Walk follows a couple who left Ghana with a dream of a better life in Europe and now live as refugees in Belgrade. It had its world premiere at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2021 where it won five prizes including the main Grand Prix – Crystal Globe and the Best Actor, honor awarded to Ibrahim Koma for his starring performance in the film. The film has since won over 20 awards from festivals around the world for best film, best direction, and best acting.
As Far As I Can Walk is a re-imagining of a traditional medieval epic in which contemporary African migrants take the place of Serbian national heroes. 22-year-old Siisi, nicknamed Strahinja, is doing everything to integrate in Serbia. He volunteers for the Red Cross in the camp where he lives, looks for work, plays on the local football team… His biggest challenge, however, is to win back the woman he loves. When she disappears one day, Strahinja sets out to find her. Urgent and timeless at the same time, the adaptation raises questions about identity, tradition, race and love.
Praise For As Far As I Can Walk
“It’s a surprising and exhilarating blend of contemporary refugee story, love triangle and medieval Serbian poem.” ~ Alisa Simon, Variety
“In his masterfully directed picture Stefan Arsenijević delivers a crystal clear, humanistic account of the need to find one’s place in the world; this is also a tale of love, the most profound testimony of which might also be the most painful.” ~ Lenka Tyrpáková, Karlovy Vary FF
“Arsenijević’s film is vividly crafted and performed. The predominantly English-language film should gather interest [ ] on the strength of its topicality and emotional accessibility.” ~ Guy Lodge, Variety
“The refugees are presented as broken and poor, but dignified, and as opposed to many other similarly themed films, we get real, flesh-and-blood characters in Strahinja and Ababuo, with well-defined personalities, pasts and hopes for the future. And therein lies the film’s greatest strength: both actors are positively magnetic on the screen, but especially Koma, whose drive and extraordinary charisma often collide with Mensah-Offei’s pride and headstrong ambition.” ~ Vladan Petkovic, Cineuropa
“One of Arsenijevic’s avowed goals with As Far as I Can Walk was to portray refugees as distinct individuals with inner lives, dreams and aspirations, not just blank statistics. In this he is admirably successful.” ~ Stephen Dalton, Verdict
ABOUT ARTMATTAN FILMS
ArtMattan Films celebrates in 2023 thirty one years of exposing US audiences to a large variety of films about the human experience of people of color in many parts of the world. Films released by ArtMattan Films include Kirikou and the Sorceress, The Tracker, Gospel Hill, The Pirogue, White Lies and Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba and more recently The Last Tree, Made in Bangladesh, Marighella, A Son (Un Fils) and The Sleeping Negro
