This Is The Day

This is the Day captures the flow and simple beauty of daily life in a monastery standing on a hill above the Serbian village of Velika Hoca in Kosovo. The director asks the viewer to set aside any expectation of hearing a “story” and instead to observe quietly as in life. The serenity of the film provides a mental space in which the imagination may drift freely, meditating and reflecting. The camera is still, landscapes unfold, seasons change and words give way to silence. “In 2000 I was travelling for weeks all over war-torn Kosovo, looking for signs of reconciliation. The only person who did not ask me whose side I was on, was Father Miron, a Serbian monk. It took seven years to get permission for filming and four years to film and edit. I had to wait patiently until I could become one with the place.”