Croatian director Hana Jušić sat down for a THR Presents Q&A to discuss "God Will Not Help," her drama-thriller-romance-mystery hybrid that Croatia has submitted as its contender in the international feature Oscar race. The film, which runs 137 minutes and opened in theaters on November 27, 2025, stars Chilean actress Manuela Martelli as a woman whose arrival in an isolated mountain settlement of Croatian shepherds upends the lives of everyone living there.
The premise places Teresa, a Chilean woman, in a tightly ordered and remote shepherd community in the early 20th century. She presents herself as the widow of a man from the community who had emigrated abroad, and that claim alone is enough to unsettle the group's long-standing rhythms. According to the film's synopsis, her presence alters the relationships among community members and stirs unrest - while also offering inspiration to the women around her. The setup gives Jušić room to work across four genres at once, and the film's reception suggests the blend has landed: it holds a 7.3 out of 10 rating on TMDb.
Jušić is no newcomer to international audiences. Her debut feature "Quit Staring at My Plate" premiered in Venice's Critics' Week in 2016, where it won the FEDEORA award, and she has since worked steadily as a writer and director in Croatian cinema. "God Will Not Help" marks a shift toward a larger ensemble and a period setting, and the cast reflects that ambition. Martelli, known internationally for "Chile '76," leads as Teresa. Ana Marija Veselčić plays Milena, Filip Đurić plays Ilija, Mauro Ercegović Gracin plays Nikola, Nikša Butijer plays Stanko, Tina Orlandini plays Đuka, Bogdan Farcaș plays Marko, and Ivan Skoko plays Krste.
The film's original language is Croatian, and its runtime of 137 minutes places it on the longer side of this year's international submissions - a length that suggests Jušić is interested in letting the community's internal tensions develop at their own pace rather than rushing toward resolution. The combination of a mystery premise (who is Teresa, really, and what does she want?) with the slower textures of a period drama is an unusual calling card for an awards campaign, and the THR Presents conversation gave Jušić a platform to walk through those choices in detail.
A Crowded International Race
Croatia's decision to submit "God Will Not Help" puts it in a competitive field, but the film arrives with some momentum behind it. A theatrical release in late November 2025 gave it time to build word of mouth before awards season, and the TMDb rating of 7.3 suggests audiences have responded to the material. The international feature category rewards films that pair a distinctive national or regional setting with a story that travels - and a Chilean widow arriving in a Croatian mountain community in the early 1900s is exactly the kind of premise that can cross borders, especially with Martelli, a star familiar to art-house audiences well beyond Chile, in the lead.
What to Watch For
The Q&A format has become a standard stop for international contenders, and Jušić's appearance fits that pattern. What remains to be seen is whether the film can convert critical attention into traction with academy voters, who must navigate a deep bench of submissions this year. For now, "God Will Not Help" stands as one of the more formally adventurous titles in the conversation - a film that refuses to sit comfortably in a single genre and trusts its audience to follow a stranger into a closed world.
"God Will Not Help" is now in theaters.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
