The third week of Belmont World Film's 22nd International Film Series features the East Coast premiere of Traces, Croatia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. While grappling with loneliness, loss and an uncertain future, an anthropologist researches an ancient burial ritual in the mountains of Croatia in which exposed stones in a burial area would mark the length of a deceased person’s body, and therefore leave a sign—a trace—of the life that had been lived.

Speaker: Ellen Elias-Bursać, a scholar known for her translations of fiction and nonfiction books by Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian writers will lead the discussion following the film.

The films in Belmont World Film’s 22nd International Film Series, Transformation/Preservation, delve into the complexities of human existence with depth, compassion, insight—and even humor. In these remarkable stories from around the globe, audience members can immerse themselves in the narratives of individuals and groups confronting the unexpected twists and turns that life presents, helping us gain a deeper understanding of resilience, adaptation, and the universal truths that bind us.

Funding is provided by a generous grant from the Mass Cultural Council. The Consulate of Sweden is the festival’s Province sponsor.