A reimagining of the medieval Serbian epic poem Banovich Strahinya, in which contemporary African migrants take the place of Serbian national heroes. Urgent and timeless at the same time, this adaptation raises questions about identity, tradition, race and love.

Strahinya and his wife, Ababuo, both 28, left Ghana at the beginning of the migrant crisis. They managed to reach Germany, but were deported back to Belgrade. Serbia may not be Germany, but Strahinya does his best to start a new life. He works hard to secure asylum, trying out as a football player for a local club and working as a volunteer for the Red Cross. The process, however, is lengthy and Ababuo, a passionate woman aspiring to become an actress in London, feels unfulfilled in their life.

Arsenijević wrote the script along with his frequent collaborator Bojan Vuletić and Nicolas Ducray. The main roles are played by Ibrahim Koma, Nancy Mensah-Offei, Maxim Khalil, Rami Farah, Nebojša Dugalić.

Strahinja Banović was produced by Belgrade-based Art & Popcorn and coproduced by Lithuania's Artbox, France’s Surprise Alley, Luxembourg’s Les Films Fauves and Bulgaria’s Chouchkov Brothers. It was supported by Film Center Serbia, the Lithuanian Film Centre, as well as by France’s CNC, Film Fund Luxembourg, the Bulgarian National Film Center and Eurimages. The film was supported by MEDIA - Creative Europe with a development grant.

The film was shot on location in Belgrade and the vicinity, and also in Lithuania for a day. The shooting wrapped on 14 December 2018. The reported budget is 1.2  m EUR.