The other two finalists are Fallen Leaves (Finland, Germany) by Aki Kaurismäki and Io Capitano (Italy, Belgium, France) by Matteo Garrone.
The three finalists were chosen by 85 of the most prominent Arab film critics from 15 Arab-speaking countries out of a total of 25 submitted European films.
The winning film will receive the award at the El Gouna Film Festival (14 - 21 December 2023).
Perišić’s sophomore feature film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where the lead actor Jovan Ginić was honoured with the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award. He also received the award for Best Actor at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Lost Country was produced by Easy Riders Films, Trilema and KinoElektron, coproduced by Red Lion and Kinorama, and supported by Film Center Serbia, CNC, Arte France Cinema, the Luxembourg Film Fund and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre.