The Tower of Strength (Obraz) was inspired by the story of Nur Doka, who sacrificed his son in accord with the tradition of the blood feud, according to which if a family causes the death of the member of another family, the offending family, to avoid shame and dishonor, must sacrifice a member of their own family.
For the film, the filmmakers have created a much more dramatic version of resolution of a blood feud. The story, directed by Nikola Vukčević using a script by Melina Pota Koljević and Ana Vujadinović, takes place in the mountainous region of Montenegro near the border with Albania. To settle a blood feud, a Christian family turns over their baby boy, Mehmet, to the Muslim family headed by Nuredin Doka (Edon Rizvanolli), who is so well-respected that he is know as The Tower of Strength. But Doka and his wife (Xhejlane Terbunja) cannot bring themselves to kill this innocent baby.
Doka raises Mehmet as his own son. By the time of the breakout of World War II, Mehmet (Elez Adžović) is a young boy. A pro-Nazi group of Muslim soldiers arrive at Doka’s door and demand that he turn over Mehmet so they can kill him because their mission is to kill all Christians. When Doka refuses, the leader of the pro-Nazis, Sokolj Gjonaj, (Alban Ukaj) makes it clear that if Doka doesn’t give up Mehmet, he and his colleagues will kill Duka’s entire family, including his wife and children.
It took eight years to complete The Tower of Strength. Because of funding delays, the filming was done in five parts. Each time, the producers edited what they had already recorded while they waited for the next batch of money. The film includes actors from six different countries. Director Vukčević previously represented Montenegro in the Academy Awards in 2014 with The Kids from the Marx and Engels Street.
