Ena Sendijarevic’s ‘The Possessed,’ a Dark, Surrealist Exploration of a Love Triangle Set During the European Witch Hunts, Greenlit (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough

20 December 2024 at 10:21 am·2-min read

“The Possessed,” the third feature film from Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ena Sendijarević and her English-language debut, has been greenlit and is set to shoot in Spain at the start of 2026.

The project, which was selected for Cinemart last year, will be presented to buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. International casting is underway. The project has 1.2 million Euros in place through the Netherlands Film Fund.

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Sendijarević’s second feature “Sweet Dreams,” which was in the main competition at Locarno, was chosen as the official Dutch submission for this year’s Academy Awards. The colonial satire was deemed a “startlingly accomplished sophomore film” by Variety’s reviewer. She signed with Black Bear’s management arm in January and was selected as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch this year.

Sendijarević’s 2019 feature debut, “Take Me Somewhere Nice,” an absurdist European road trip movie, won the Special Jury award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, as well as the Heart of Sarajevo Award for best feature film at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

“The Possessed,” which has secured majority production funding, is a dark, surrealist exploration of a love triangle between two women fleeing the European witch hunts and the man who becomes their captive.

Sendijarević tells Variety: “‘The Possessed’ explores the European witch hunts and their enduring impact through a surrealist and contemporary lens. This film examines how immense societal power struggles infiltrate and shape the most intimate relationships.

“I want to create a cinematic world that blurs the boundaries between history and timelessness, the tangible and the supernatural— and offers a space to reflect on the echoes of these struggles in our own lives. At its heart, this is a gripping, character-driven story meant to connect with audiences on an emotional and visceral level.”

The film is produced by Layla Meijman and Maarten van der Ven for Studio Ruba in the Netherlands, whose track record includes “Idyllic,” which plays in IFFR Big Screen Competition next year, “To a Land Unknown,” which was in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year, and “Kiddo,” which screened in Berlinale Generation last year.

It is co-produced by Elisa Heene for Mirage Films in Belgium, whose films include “Holly,” which was in Venice Film Festival’s official competition last year, Martien Vlietman from VPRO Broadcast, and Sendijarevic for Eklips in the Netherlands.

Meijmans, who previously worked with Sendijarević on her short film “Import” and “Take Me Somewhere Nice,” said: “This marks an exciting new chapter, and we are eager to bring this captivating project to audiences around the world.”

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