The Telekom Srbija company, within the 38th Herceg Novi Film Festival, presented its latest series “Ljuljaj me nežno” (“Rock Me Gently”), which is created in cooperation with the Montenegrin Radio and Television (RTCG), while the executive production of the series is entrusted to the Režim production company.
This original series project, the first of its kind in the region, brings together romantic, dramatic, humorous and criminal elements, as well as an exciting story about the emotional maturation of a woman in a whirlwind of unfulfilled dreams, love dilemmas and family problems.
The plot follows Sanja Popović, a former junior tennis champion and now a tennis instructor in her forties, who after a breakdown of her life in Belgrade goes to Herceg Novi to live with her estranged daughter and tries to find a new beginning, love and meaning there, but her past catches up with her and threatens to throw her off balance.
The presentation of the series brought together the author and acting team, who brought the importance of the project closer to the audience, but also shared the expectations from the upcoming filming. Aleksandra Martinović, the chief officer of Telekom Serbia’s Multimedia Division, emphasized that the series confirmed Telekom’s strategic commitment to continuously invest in top-quality original production and contribute to the development of the film industry in the country and the region, and added:
“We are especially proud that the Telekom Srbija company, through the ‘Rock me gently’ project, has decided to pay full attention to the dramedy genre – one of the most popular in the world, but at the same time insufficiently developed in our country, and to approach it according to the highest world production standards. The project is characterized by luxurious locations in Montenegro and Serbia, filming in Herceg Novi and Belgrade, the use of cutting-edge film equipment, as well as a top author and acting team. After we have made big and bold strides in the thriller, action and fantasy genres, over the previous years, with this project we continue to raise the bar in terms of production and creativity, but this time through a format that combines romance, humour and layered human drama. We recognized “Rock Me Gently” as a project with a clear potential to conquer the audience in the region, but also around the world, thanks to its strong artistic vision, original narrative and high production values“.
The importance of cooperation on the project was also emphasized by Gojko Berkuljan, the chief producer of RTCG, saying that this was an important step in strengthening regional ties and promoting Montenegro as a film destination:
“We are especially glad that through this project the model of cooperation is being extended to the regional level. As a minority co-producer, we have the opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues from Telekom Srbija on a significant and great achievement. It is important to point out that a large part of the series itself will be filmed in Montenegro. We believe in the project and the author’s team behind it and we are sure that in front of the audience is a series that they will enjoy”, said Berkuljan.
The main character Sanja Popović is played by the actress Tamara Krcunović, who is also the co-creator and producer of the series. Speaking about the role and the project, she emphasized that the series is particularly important to her because for her it is the realization of a long-standing desire to make a dramedy in which women and their view of the world are in the foreground:
“After years of producing theatre plays and choosing texts and author teams, here for the first time I had the opportunity to create the text of the series together with my collaborators, which is a new and valuable experience for me. It means a lot to me that Telekom Srbija listened and supported this kind of project, which combines a dramatic tone with rom-com elements”.
Directors Nevio Marasović and Sandra Mitrović also commented on the importance of the project, emphasizing that working on the series represents a special professional challenge and inspiration for them. Actors Teodora Dragićević and Andrija Kuzmanović shared their impressions, saying that they were proud to be a part of this achievement and that they had great expectations from the filming process, which will largely be done in Herceg Novi. Apart from them, the cast also includes Nenad Jezdić and Lazar Dragojević, Nebojša Dugalić, Olga Odanović, Dara Džokić, Ivan Bosiljčić and many others.
The first scene of the series was taken recently in Belgrade, and the filming continues in Herceg Novi at the end of August. In addition to “Rock Me Gently”, Telekom Srbija also presented its other current projects at the Herzeg Novi Festival, including “Volja Sinovljeva” (“The Will of the Son”), “Otmica” (“Kidnapping”), “12 reči” (“12 Words”) and “Zvaćeš se Varvara” (“You will be called Varvara”), confirming its strategic role in the development of audiovisual production and the positioning of the domestic film scene in the European and international contexts.
