UK-German-Serbian team will revive old stories in Vampir, an arthouse horror film

Written and directed by German-born Serbian actor Branko Tomovic, the arthouse horror film Vampir is scheduled for filming this summer. A UK-German-Serbian co-production will give a new spin on centuries-old legends and the first cases of vampires in Serbia, originally documented in letters to the Austrian government from the 18th century.

“Our film is inspired by the real vampire cases that occurred in Serbia in the early 1700s. Those were the origins of vampires. Though Vampir is set in modern times, it’s based on those myths, superstitions and folk elements,” says Tomovic, who also wrote the story.

This will be his feature debut, but Tomovic has made first directorial steps with shorts Red and The Smell of Petrol, two thrillers dealing with organ trade and human trafficking. The actor will also star as Arnaut, a man who witnesses a crime in London and looking for a place to hide, is offered a job by charming yet ruthless local to look after a cemetery in a remote village in Serbia. He soon starts to receive visits by the mysterious older woman Baba Draga and only the village priest seems to be trying to keep him safe from the sinister intentions of the villagers.

The film is produced by UK's Red Marked Films and co-produced by German's Vickermann Films and Serbian's Dinaric Alps Productions. Tomovic will be joined in front of the camera by Gorica Regodic – Next to Me (2015), Eva Ras – Yugoslavian screen legend, Joakim Tasic – My Husband's Double Life (2018) and Judith Georgi – Jojo Rabbit (2019). The creative team will be joined by the composer Mark Ashworth.

Vampir will shoot in rural areas of Serbia, in English. Principal photography is currently scheduled for early June.