Ivan Raffaelli

Due to socio-political issues in the country, it has become questionable to what extent the decision to leave the home country is forced. The community that is needed to establish better conditions and consequently slow down the trend of emigration due to the same problem remains weakened. These and many other factors lead to devastating statistics and the increasingly present problems of contemporary Croatian society. Žal, allegorically representing the country, tries to find the complex causes of the problem.

In the late seventies in Rijeka, the story follows the friendship of an amateur rock band, their development, problems, love and desire for success.

Sofia lives with her grandmother, who has dementia and no longer recognises her. To maintain their closeness, she pretends to be someone different every day. When her neighbour – with whom she has been in a casual romantic relationship – invites her to move with him to Germany, Sofia finds herself facing an almost impossible choice.