Serbian filmmaker Stefan Djordjević is prepping his sophomore feature, “The Leaves Hang Trembling,” a hybrid docufiction that explores the impact of a teacher’s life and work on the people around her. The project took home the top prize last week at the Crossroads Co-Production Forum in the Thessaloniki Film Festival ’s industry section, Agora.

As with Djordjević’s feature debut, “Wind, Talk to Me,” which premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival this year before winning the top prize at Sarajevo, “The Leaves Hang Trembling” is a cinematic ode to the director’s late mother, who he describes as “the most important person in my life.”

Djordjević’s first film — a deeply personal attempt to reckon with his mother’s death — earned a rapturous review from Variety ’s Guy Lodge, who praised

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