Jovanka Vuckovic directs Riot Girls, set in post-apocalyptic 1995

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

A former visual effects artist who served as the editor of Rue Morgue Magazine for several years, Jovanka Vuckovic is now making her solo feature directorial debut with RIOT GIRLS, a post-apocalyptic thriller currently filming in Canada.

Scripted by Katherine Collins, is set in "an alternate 1995", 

four years after a mysterious illness has killed all adults. The town of Potter’s Bluff has been divided into two rival factions, the ‘East side’, made up of scrappy scavengers living amongst the ruins, and the ‘West side’ which hoards its wealth in the former high school and is ruled by Jeremy, a brutal dictator.

When Jack, an eastsider, is forced to kill two westsiders while on a scavenging mission, he is captured and taken back to the West side where he awaits public execution. Jack’s sister, Nat, and her best friend, Scratch, must cross into dangerous territory if they have any hope of saving him. Their treacherous journey reveals not only the power of their love, but the depths of their courage.

Madison Iseman (pictured above), who appeared in the "Sweet Tooth" segment of the anthology TALES OF HALLOWEEN, and Bates Motel's Paloma Kwiatkowski (below) star.

RIOT GIRLS is being produced by Lauren Grant of Clique Pictures, with Vuckovic, Collins, Michael Roban, Oddfellows Entertainment's Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Chris Ferguson, Head Gear Films' Phil Hunt and Compton Ross, Search Engine Films' John Bain, and Urban Post Production's Mark Gringas and John Laing executive producing. Sandra Yee Ling serves as co-executive producer.

Vuckovic previously directed the "The Box" segment of the anthology XX. In a statement, she said that RIOT GIRLS 

is not the kind of film women usually get to make, with characters that women don’t usually get to play, so I was naturally attracted to it. It’s also reminiscent of my favourite high concept cult films, and being an outsider myself, I can’t help but love a good misfit’s journey. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be at the helm of this genre-bending, punk rock, post-apocalypse film."

I'm interested in seeing how this one will turn out, and in finding out what its vision of a 1995 where the apocalypse hit in '91 is going to look like.

DAY 1: Token slate photo. @RiotGirlsFilm #womendirectors #womeninfilm #riotgirlsfilm pic.twitter.com/GD58ZFO8WE

— Jovanka Vuckovic (@JovankaVuckovic) October 17, 2017

DAY 2: Locked up all of Main St. for some skateboarding and crane action courtesy of @WFW_Intl #filmmaking #womeninfilm #womendirectors pic.twitter.com/GsrVLnKKgi

— Jovanka Vuckovic (@JovankaVuckovic) October 18, 2017