After being selected at numerous festivals and winning multiple awards—including Best Actress for Zorica Nusheva at the Seville European Film Festival, the Ecumenical Jury Prize, and the Guild of German Art House Cinemas Award at the Berlin International Film Festival—the North Macedonian film God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya, directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska, received the Arab Critics Award for Best European Film during a ceremony at the Cairo Opera House, as part of the 41st Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).
Forty-two film critics from thirteen Arab countries selected the best European film of the year from twenty-four feature films submitted by the European Film Promotion (EFP), an international network of 37 European film promotion institutes, in collaboration with the Arab Cinema Center (ACC).
The award aims to promote European cinema in the Arab world, generate interest among distributors and film professionals in exceptional European films, and highlight the important role of Arab film critics in opening new perspectives and fostering cultural exchange.
Mohamed Hefzy, CIFF President, Sonja Heinen, EFP Director General, and Maher Diab and Alaa Karkouti, founders of the ACC, presented the award to Labina Mitevska, producer and one of the film’s lead actresses, as well as the director’s sister.
At the ceremony, Mohamed Hefzy said: “We are delighted to host the Arab Critics Award for European Films at the Cairo International Film Festival. I congratulate the actors and the crew of the winning film and encourage everyone to watch it in the Panorama International section,” a non-competitive segment of CIFF.
Petrunya tells the story of a woman in her early thirties. A history graduate, she is unemployed and spends her days in bed eating—which causes her to gain weight—and being harassed by her mother, who constantly criticizes her and wishes she would work. Her mother arranges a job interview for her at a factory. Petrunya goes, only to be told that without professional experience and with a “useless” degree, she cannot be hired. Worse still, despite her efforts to look presentable, the employer cruelly tells her that her appearance is so unappealing that he could not even “hire her for sex.” Demoralized, she leaves the factory.
In Stip, the small town in North Macedonia where Petrunya lives, every January, the parish priest throws a wooden cross into the river, and hundreds of men dive in to retrieve it. The person who succeeds is believed to enjoy a year of happiness and prosperity.
On that day, on a whim, Petrunya jumps into the water and grabs the cross before anyone else. Her male competitors are outraged—a woman has dared to participate in a ritual reserved exclusively for men. Conflict erupts, but Petrunya refuses to surrender: she has won the cross and will not give it back. She hides it carefully and goes home.
Petranya caught the wooden cross
However, the men of the town refuse to accept this, and Petrunya is taken to the police station, preceded by the priest, where she faces a legal and social standoff.
Petrunya is not particularly religious. She took the cross out of superstition: she has never had good luck and hopes it will change. She wants her share of happiness and is determined not to return the cross she has won. A young TV host tries to win public opinion to Petrunya’s cause. She understands the stakes of Petrunya’s act and seeks to use it to effect change in her country.
From this simple event, the film unfolds, gradually intensifying and raising numerous legal, societal, and religious questions.
First, why is Petrunya being held at the police station? Has she broken the law? Can she be arrested?
No, Petrunya has done nothing illegal. She only retrieved a wooden cross. She did not steal it. No law forbids her action.
Yet church tradition dictates that only men may retrieve the cross. Does this tradition carry the weight of law? In a state governed by law, which takes precedence: custom and canon law, or civil law?
The police commissioner faces a dilemma. He cannot legally arrest Petrunya, yet he also cannot bring himself to release her. He attempts to convince her to return the cross, but she refuses categorically. Why should she give it back?
Petranya (Zorica Nusheva) and the priest (Suad Begovski) at the police station
Moreover, no religious text explicitly forbids a woman from taking the cross; only tradition imposes this restriction. What is the origin of this tradition, and why does it only consider men? Where are the women in all this? Why is the church misogynistic? These questions prompt the TV host to ask: what if God were a woman? If God were a woman, would these problems exist?
Indeed, the film’s English title, God Exists, HER Name is Petrunya, plays on this idea: the word “Her” is feminine, suggesting God might be a woman. It is unfortunate that the French translation does not convey this nuance.
Why not change traditions? Why must they remain immutable? Who decided that women could not challenge these patriarchal religious norms? Why should women not be allowed to bypass these male-centered religious traditions and assert themselves?
Petrunya dared. She dared to transgress established rules. She dared to act naturally and spontaneously as an equal to men. This is what they refuse to accept. The church refuses it, the law refuses it, society refuses it, and especially the men who feel dispossessed refuse it.
These men even attack the police station where Petrunya is held against her will. They want to reclaim the cross by force, claiming it rightfully belongs to them.
The police are torn. Petrunya has violated no law. What should they do? At first, they opposed her and tried to persuade her to return the cross and restore the established order. But when she was in danger, some officers not only fulfilled their duty and protected her but even sympathized with her. Her strength of character prevailed and earned their respect. Women like Petrunya are essential to advancing women’s rights.
The young officer Darko (Stefan Vujisic) and Petrunya (Zorica Nusheva) at the police station
God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya addresses gender equality and the role of women in Macedonian society. It shows how women are treated by family members, religious authorities, and politicians—all acting to protect their own interests and privileges.
It depicts a society where a woman’s primary role is expected to be caring for her home and children, even when, like the TV host, she appears emancipated, free, and independent.
The film ends on a cautiously optimistic note: once Petrunya takes charge and breaks tradition, her luck changes. The man who initially deemed her undesirable now asks her out on a date. He recognizes her courage, determination, and human qualities—qualities far more important than physical appearance. Yet the film leaves the audience questioning: must a woman’s empowerment always be validated by a man’s gaze?
 Neïla Driss
