Kristian Novak’s Novel ‘Dark Mother Earth’ Sets Film Adaptation From Oscar-Nominated ‘The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent’ Director (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com Nebojša Slijepčević, the director of the Oscar-nominated short “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent,” is working on a feature adaptation of “Dark Mother Earth” by Kristian Novak, Variety has exclusively learned. “Dark Mother Earth” follows an amnesiac writer, Matija, who is missing a major portion of his memory.

Upon writing his third book, Matija is forced to confront the past and the lies he has constructed through false memories and stories over the years.

The book won the Tportal Prize for Croatian Novel of the Year in 2013. “It deals with childhood trauma and past trauma in general,” Slijepčević explains. “You can watch it politically as something that Balkan nations dealt with in the ‘90s, but also as a personal story — what happens when you have childhood trauma and how it reflects in your adult life later on.” “Dark Mother Earth” marks Slijepčević’s first feature-length project and is written by Slijepčević and Nadia Petrovic.

It will be produced by Antitalent, Contrast Films, Les Films Norfolk and Studio Virc — the same international production companies that worked on “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent.” Antitalent has the option rights to the book. “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” made history for Slijepčević’s home country, becoming Croatia’s first Oscar nomination since it became an independent nation in 1991.