Safe Place, the Croatian candidate for the Oscar, directed by Juraj Lerotic, has won the main prize at the FilmFestival Cottbus in the feature film category, the Soonce Komunikacija PR agency said on Saturday.

The Cottbus festival is considered one of the leading international festivals of Eastern European film, held on 8-13 November.

This is the ninth award for Lerotić’s debut, and among the previous ones are awards won at the film festivals in Locarno and Sarajevo, as well as at the Zagreb Film Festival.

The film was based on the personal experience of the director, who wrote the screenplay and also plays the leading role.

A traumatic event – a sudden suicide attempt – opens a gap in the everyday life of a family of three. Their lives change fundamentally, as if they have been pulled into a war invisible to everyone else. The plot is limited to the most acute, a short period of time and a situation that boils down to the most important thing – to save a loved one.

Safe Place has been playing in the theatres across Croatia since last week.