Review: The Divine Feminine (2026)
Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival
Short Film Competition
Attached on a personal level to “Narodni Front”, the famous Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinic in Belgrade, I found Ivana Todorović’s short documentary “The Divine Feminine” to be an emotional rollercoaster. It is there that my grandmother worked as a tailor until her retirement, and where my mother, and later myself, were born. It is between its four walls that I had my first gynaecological intervention, or where I heard whispers of medical conditions or different sex crimes committed on women who sought aid in the clinic. Not all stories were difficult to hear, as many came from a place of happiness connected to wanted pregnancies and childbirth.
One thing is sure: in the bastion of women’s experiences, a special bond is forming, even if only briefly, and Serbian helmer Ivana Todorović, herself a former patient of the famous medical institution, has returned to its belly to film some of the women waiting for various procedures. We see them in different situations: from the waiting room and admission, and their hospital beds awaiting the surgery. “The Divine Feminine” is a movie that pierces through the heart. After its world premiere at the 42nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival, it started its world festival circuit, scooping no less than three awards at Beldocs: for Best International Short, Special Mention at the Serbian competition and Best Cinematography as a nod to the fabulous DoP work by Maša Drndić, who already has nine titles under her belt, and hopefully many more to come. The photography is crisp and cold, its bluish-grey hues bringing the sterile hospital environment close to the collective memory of viewership. We have all been there, female clinic or not. There is barely any colour inside their sterile, stringent rooms controlled by nurses and doctors whose task is to help, heal, release patients and take in new ones. Drndić’s framing is magical, meticulously precise and telling. More often than not, her images steal the show, and that is hard to do considering how fascinating all the protagonists are.
Three generations come together in Todorović’s gripping documentary about the female body, women’s memory and traumas, acceptance and regrets. Fly-on-the-wall would be a rather simplistic way to describe the director’s approach to her subjects, since the viewer feels as if they are being sucked inside the screen with great intensity. It is something she has been good at since her debut short, “A Harlem Mother” (2010), about Latraun Parker, a young man shot dead on the street on April 28, 2001, who co-directed the documentary “Teen Dreams” as an 18-year-old.
In a pretty much still patriarchal society, women exchange their stories as if they were talking with their closest female friends. Some are choosing their words carefully; the others let them roam freely. The voice doesn’t always match what we see, and this decision proves fruitful. Not always sure if the words belong to the face one sees, attention grows stronger with each minute, and it intensifies even more when the match actually happens. One of the most gripping stories is the one coming from a nonagenarian who gives the account of her mother’s tragic passing in WWII, concluding that despite being adopted by a loving family, “no one can hug you as your mother does”. And if her story doesn’t press hard enough on your tear glands, the closing song will. The Bosnian crooning classic “”This Morning, My Rose Bloomed” written and composed by Petar Tanasijević in 1959, and originally performed by Milica Popović Milutinović, is sung by the queen of “sevdalinka” Amira Medunjanin:
The director proves skillful in blending stories together, respecting women’s private spheres while at the same time putting the major subjects in focus: sexual violence, pregnancy terminations and the reasons for those particular choices (each one relatable), fear of death, mourning and hope for health improvement. She is more of a soul whisperer than their director, a keen listener to her subjects, scarred by circumstances, and yet hopeful to continue with their lives no matter what challenge they are dealing with. The film is a celebration of femininity and resistance to cards dealt in life, and it pretty much defies the old saying “resistance is futile”. The women in this film are here to tell it straight to your face.
Gripping, empowering and bold “The Divine Feminine” is a strong watch, a mighty insight into a female psyche when faced with challenges of womanhood. Ubiquarian has caught up with Todorović’s short at Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival Short Film Competition where it screened shortly after its regional premiere at Doku:Fest in Prizren.
Original Title: Žene Narodnog Fronta
Country: Serbia
Language: Serbian
Year: 2026
Runtime:
Directed and Produced by: Ivana Todorović
Edited by: Marija Jelušić
Cinematography: Maša Drndić
Sound Design and Music: Jakov Munizaba
Sound Effects: Ivan Uzelac, Aleksa Prljević
Color: Milica Drakulić
VFX: Andrej Đukić
Graphic Design: Nebojša Petrović
Song “This Morning a Rose Bloomed for Me”: performed by Amira Medunjanin
Lyrics: Petar Tanasijević
Song Production: Dragi Šestić
Marketing Producer: Kathleen McInnis
Executive Producer: Douglas Oppedahl
Editing Supervision: Jesper Osmund, Milina Trišić
Film Form: Ivana Todorović, Maša Drndić, Marija Jelušić
Produced by: Blok Film
Supported by: Film Centre Serbia
