Hana Jušić’s “God Will Not Help” chosen as Croatia’s Oscar entry

Hana Jušić’s “God Will Not Help” will represent Croatia in the international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The Croatian Film Workers’ Association selected the film as the country’s official candidate.

The film tells the story of Teresa, a Chilean woman who arrives in an isolated shepherd community in the Dinara mountains. She claims to be the widow of the village leader’s brother, who died in a Chilean mine. Her arrival disrupts the community’s rigid structure and brings unrest, but it also gives Teresa a sense of freedom.

The film premiered at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where its lead actresses, Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselčić, won the Leopard for acting in the main Concorso Internazionale competition. At the Sarajevo Film Festival, the film received a special award promoting gender equality.

It also won the Octavijan Award from the Croatian Society of Film Critics for best feature film of 2026, as well as the award for best international film at the Internationales Frauen Film Fest Dortmund+Köln 2026. Other awards came at festivals in Thessaloniki, Luxembourg, Vinkovci, Sofia and Bari.

Kinorama is the main producer. The film was co-produced by Nightswim of Italy, Micro Film of Romania, Horsefly Films of Greece, Maneki Films of France, Perfo Production of Slovenia and Greece’s ERT S.A. The cast also includes Filip Đurić, Mauro Ercegović Gracin, Nikša Butijer, Tina Orlandini, Ivan Skoko, Bogdan Farcaș and Vinko Kraljević.