As Far as I Can Walk

{{Infobox film

| name = As Far as I Can Walk

| image =

| caption =

| director = Stefan Arsenijević

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Miroslav Mogorovich
Alice Ormieres
Gilles Chanial
Borislav Chouchkov
Kęstutis Drazdauskas

}}

| writer = {{Plainlist|

Stefan Arsenijević
Bojan Vuletić
Nicolas Ducray

}}

| screenplay =

| story =

| based_on =

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Ibrahim Koma
Nancy Mensah-Offei

}}

| narrator =

| music = Martynas Bialobžeskis

| cinematography = Jelena Stankovic

| editing = Vanja Kovačević

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

Art & Popcorn
Surprise Alley
Les Films Fauves
Chouchkov Brothers
Artbox

}}

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|2021|8|23|df=y}} (Karlovy Vary)

| runtime = 92 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

Serbia
France
Luxembourg
Bulgaria
Lithuania

}}

| language = {{Plainlist|

English
Serbian
French

}}

| budget =

| gross =

}}

As Far as I Can Walk (also known as Strahinja Banović or Strahinja) is a 2021 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Stefan Arsenijević and written by Arsenijević, Bojan Vuletić and Nicolas Ducray. It is a modern reimagining of Strahinja Banović, a hero of medieval Serbian epic poetry, that follows a young Ghanaian couple living as refugees in Belgrade. It premiered at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it won five awards.

Plot

Strahinja and his wife Ababuo left Ghana and reached Germany at the beginning of the refugee crisis, but then they were returned to Belgrade. Serbia may not be Germany, but Strahinya is doing his best to start a new life. He gave himself this Serbian name to better fit into his new surroundings.

They live in a refugee camp in Krnjača, and Strahinja works hard to get asylum, tries his hand at playing football for a local club and works as a volunteer for the Red Cross. One day, a new wave of refugees from Syria arrives in Krnjača, among them the charismatic Ali.

Cast

Ibrahim Koma as Strahinja, an aspiring footballer
Nancy Mensah-Offei as Ababuo, an aspiring actress{{Cite journal|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/as-far-as-i-can-walk-review-1235050667/|title='As Far As I Can Walk' Review: A Ghanaian Refugee Couple's Paths Diverge in a Moving Serbian Drama|journal=Variety|first=Guy|last=Lodge|date=28 August 2021|accessdate=27 November 2021}}
Maxim Khalil as Ali
Rami Farah as Dervish

Production

The film was produced by Miroslav Mogorovich of Serbia's Art & Popcorn, Alice Ormieres of France's Surprise Valley, Gilles Chanial of Luxembourg's Les Films Fauves, Borislav Chouchkov of Bulgaria's Chouchkov Brothers, and Kęstutis Drazdauskas of Lithuania's Artbox. The project received support from Eurimages, Film Center Serbia, the Serbian Film Incentive, Film Fund Luxembourg, the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Lithuanian Film Centre, the CNC's Aide aux cinémas du monde, and the European Union's Creative Europe MEDIA.{{Cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/395839/|title=Stefan Arsenijević's As Far as I Can Walk currently in post-production|website=Cineuropa|first=Davide|last=Abbatescianni|date=22 December 2020|accessdate=27 November 2021}}

Principal photography took place on location in Belgrade in 2020.

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Recipient(s) ! Result ! Ref
rowspan="7" \| 2021 \| rowspan="5" \| Karlovy Vary International Film Festival \| Crystal Globe Grand Prix \| As Far as I Can Walk \| {{won}} \|
Special Jury Mention \| Jelena Stankovic{{efn\|Shared with The Staffroom and Vinette Robinson.}} \| {{won}} \|
Jury Award \| rowspan="2" \| As Far as I Can Walk \| {{won}} \|
Europa Cinemas Label Award \| {{won}} \|
Best Actor \| Ibrahim Koma \| {{won}} \| {{cite web\|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/karlovy-vary-as-far-as-i-can-walk-top-prize-1235051135/\|title='As Far as I Can Walk' Takes Top Prize at Karlovy Vary Film Festival\|work=Variety\|first=Will\|last=Tizard\|date=28 August 2021\|accessdate=20 September 2021}}
Cairo International Film Festival \| European Film \| As Far as I Can Walk \| {{nom}} \|
KineNova Film Festival \| Best Director \| Stefan Arsenijević \| {{won}} \| {{Cite web\|url=https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/macedonia-news/item/122612-festivals-the-other-side-of-the-river-wins-kinenova-film-festival-2021\|title=FESTIVALS: The Other Side of the River Wins KineNova Film Festival 2021\|website=FNE\|first=Marina\|last=Lazarevska\|date=2 November 2021\|accessdate=27 November 2021}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Recipient(s)

! Result

! Ref

rowspan="7" | 2021

| rowspan="5" | Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

| Crystal Globe Grand Prix

| As Far as I Can Walk

| {{won}}

Special Jury Mention

| Jelena Stankovic{{efn|Shared with The Staffroom and Vinette Robinson.}}

| {{won}}

Jury Award

| rowspan="2" | As Far as I Can Walk

| {{won}}

Europa Cinemas Label Award

| {{won}}

Best Actor

| Ibrahim Koma

| {{won}}

| {{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/karlovy-vary-as-far-as-i-can-walk-top-prize-1235051135/|title='As Far as I Can Walk' Takes Top Prize at Karlovy Vary Film Festival|work=Variety|first=Will|last=Tizard|date=28 August 2021|accessdate=20 September 2021}}

Cairo International Film Festival

| European Film

| As Far as I Can Walk

| {{nom}}

KineNova Film Festival

| Best Director

| Stefan Arsenijević

| {{won}}

| {{Cite web|url=https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/macedonia-news/item/122612-festivals-the-other-side-of-the-river-wins-kinenova-film-festival-2021|title=FESTIVALS: The Other Side of the River Wins KineNova Film Festival 2021|website=FNE|first=Marina|last=Lazarevska|date=2 November 2021|accessdate=27 November 2021}}