To Hold a Mountain

Thirteen-year-old Nada lives with her aunt Gara in a small village in Sinjajevina, a mountain range encompassing Montenegro’s largest grassland. To the dismay of local residents, new plans call for their grazing sheep to make way for soldiers: Sinjajevina has been designated a NATO military training ground.

The tenacious Gara leads protests against this threat to the protected landscape. She even appears on national television, where she makes an impassioned plea for the preservation of the “mother mountain.” Meanwhile, Nada leaves to attend school in the city; her future probably lies elsewhere. But she returns regularly.

Alongside the struggle to preserve a beautiful, ancient landscape, the film also follows another, more personal battle. All the women in Gara’s family have experienced domestic violence. Gradually the film uncovers a family trauma that Nada must find her own way of dealing with. But there is also a deep bond between the generations of women: as Nada grows into a young woman, they vow to protect her. In different ways, the women fight oppression and violence, from the military and within their own community.