The Scent of Rain in the Balkans

In the first episode of "The Scent of Rain in the Balkans" TV series, elderly Blanki Korac introduces us into the story of her life by leafing through the yellowed pages of her childhood diary, alone in a flat full of photographs of her family and her, taken in bygone times. Sarajevo, 1914: a few days before the arrival of the Crown Prince Ferdinand, she introduces us into the story of the Salom family. Mum Estera is preparing the old Sephardic dish Sungatu, as she recounts the story of the arrival of Sephardic Jews in the Balkans to her fourth daughter Blanki. Estera sends her youngest daughter Riki to buy salt in the grocery store, but Riki gets carried away in play in front of the ballet school window, imitating the little ballerinas she was watching and completely forgetting about the mother's request. Estera's oldest daughter Buka is in love with David, the old antique dealer. However, a young man who really likes Buka, Danijel, spends a lot of time in his antique shop. David is convincing Buka that she would be better off marrying Danijel, which is why crying Buka goes to her sisters Nina and Klara to the hat store "La Parisienne", owned by Nina. There, we meet Mrs Ninkovic, one of the biggest gossipers in Sarajevo.

The father, Leon, is the owner of a clockmaker's shop in which his only son Isak, affectionately called Athlete, also works. At the end of the work day, the Saloms gather at a family lunch in their home. Everyone, but Riki, who got absorbed in play. Eating the unsalted Sungatu, Leon scolds Riki, who finally turns up with the salt, to the joy of the whole family because nothing bad happened to her. The old Nona Salom visits the Saloms with her two sisters, giving each of the sisters a piece of advice on how to behave in life. This was mostly a signal for Buka, who agrees to have Danijel come to their home for dinner. At dinner, Danijel proposes to her and she agrees to marry him with her father's blessing. The same evening, Buka in tears admits to her mother that she loves another man and not Danijel. The next morning, Danijel comes to take Buka to the reception of Franz Ferdinand at the Appel Quay. The other sisters are also excited and preparing for the grand ceremony...

Genre: Drama

Country of production: Serbia

Original title: Cvat lipe na Balkanu

Year of production: 2011.

Episodes: 14 x 50-55' HD

Screenwriter: Djordje Milosavljevic

Director: Ljubisa Samardzic

Cast: Ljiljana Blagojevic, Predrag Ejdus, Mirka Vasiljevic, Aleksandra Bibic, Tamara Dragicevic, Marija Vickovic, Kalina Kovacevic, Stefan Buzurovic, Tanasije Uzunovic, Jelisaveta Sablic. Series Editor: Marko Novakovic.