(UN)WANTED IDENTITES: STORYTELLING IN THE POST-YUGOSLAV CONTEXT

14/15 September 2019

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PROGRAMME

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IKEA FOR YU
Directed by Marija Ratkovic Vidakovic (Croatia)
with English subtitles, 52min 

IKEA for YU is the testimony of filmmaker’s own trip into her own family Yugoslav history, deep into its most intimate nooks and crannies where there is a long history full of twists and turns. Marija investigates the identity history of former Yugoslavia, rich in conflicts and contradiction, through this intimate family film.

Trailer: HERE

 

OCCUPIED CINEMA
Directed by Senka Domanovic (Serbia)
with English subtitles, 87min 

Occupied Cinema is a film about guerrilla action initiated by young activists taking over privatized cinema Zvezda in Belgrade, Serbia. This activity united various social groups that shared the same ambition – to change the reality in which they live. However, their views about how that reality should look like were not the same. It got a main prize of the Belgrade Documentary Festival in March.

Trailer: HERE

 

Panel Discussion
WHAT IS YUGOSLAVIA TO YOU?
Speakers: Vesna Goldsworthy (writer and academic, University of Exeter), Svetlana Rakocevic (moderator, University of Westminster), Marija Ratkovic Vidakovic (documentary filmmaker, Croatia), Olivia Sudjic (fiction writer, UK) and Vladimir Unkovski-Korica (lecturer, University of Glasgow)

 

NEBESKA TEMA
Directed by Mladen Maticevic (Serbia)
with English subtitles, 108min

Nebeska tema is a documentary with elements of feature films about the life and music of Vlada Divljan. Some the most important authors from the former Yugoslav space appear in the film sharing their views about the great artist and making the film a unique project. The scenes were shot in Belgrade, Zagreb, Vienna, Rovinj and Brac.

Trailer: HERE

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BORN JUST NOW
Directed by Robert Adanto (USA)
in English, 84min 

Born Just Now offers an intimate look at Marta Jovanovic, a Belgrade-based artist struggling to cope with the violence that has ended an eight-year marriage. Daring to live on her own terms, Jovanović has chosen art and art-making over marriage and abuse. Through provocative acts of endurance exploring intimacy, motherhood and the trauma of the Balkan wars, Jovanovic seeks to confront, release, and liberate her own pain in the name of art. This personal portrait is a moving meditation on what it means to be a fearless female artist living in the 21st century.

Trailer: HERE

 

Panel Discussion
PERSPECTIVES: PHOTOGRAPHY STORYTELLING
Speakers: Katja Goljat (Slovenia), Marija Jankovic (Serbia), Imrana Kapetanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Dijana Muminovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Duska Radosavljevic (moderator, University of London)

 

I Think At You

A reading act by Mil Vukovic-Smart based on letters from youths in Western Europe to a teenage girl in former Yugoslavia during summer holidays in the 1980s. Through a collage of intimate longings and social concerns, it offers a view of Yugoslav past as promised-future.

NAKED ISLAND
Directed by Tiha K. Gudac (Croatia)
with English subtitles, 75min

Naked Island is an investigation built upon the ruins of the past, a mosaic made of clues – family photos and intimate testimonies of a tight-knit group of people who were brought together by the same place, a political prison in ex-Yugoslavia that was also known as an island of broken souls, and consequences that this place left on three generations. At the same time, it is a fascinating portrayal of a moment in which a past can finally become history and a brave documentary defying silence and fear.

Trailer: HERE

 
HONEYLAND
Directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov (Macedonia)
with English subtitles, 87min

Nestled in an isolated mountain region deep within the Balkans, Hatidze Muratova lives with her ailing mother in a village without roads, electricity or running water. She’s the last in a long line of Macedonian wild beekeepers, eking out a living farming honey in small batches to be sold in the closest city – a mere four hours’ walk away. Hatidze’s peaceful existence is thrown into upheaval by the arrival of an itinerant family, with their roaring engines, seven rambunctious children and herd of cattle. Hatidze optimistically meets the promise of change with an open heart, offering up her affections, her brandy and her tried-and-true beekeeping advice.

Trailer:HERE

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Mezzanine Gallery
PERSPECTIVES: PHOTOGRAPHY STORYTELLING

There is nothing more powerful than a story; yet photography storytelling is about one’s own perspective. Which story do you want to tell? Fifteen resounding female documentary photographers attest that images can empower, drive social change and reframe harmful narratives. These artists stimulate critical thinking about local issues in relation to Female Lives –lives and human rights alike. The exhibition showcases a blend of different stories which reflect a plurality of approaches, ranging from gender and feminism to sexuality, from domesticity and rural lives to marginalised people such as Roma and LGBT community, from soup kitchens to modern selfie culture and communist grandmothers. These photographs examine identity and human vulnerability. In the present world, a single image can shift public opinion. Coming from Southeast Europe, these photographers have captured post-war contexts, streets and landscape, travel and architecture. They belong to different genres; while some have made their mark in documentary photography, others are praised for fashion photography. Altogether, they deserve accolades for their achievements and recognition in their native countries. Photographers: Katja Goljat, Jelena Jankovic, Marija Jankovic, Imrana Kapetanovic, Boryana Katsarova,Sanja Knezevic, Glorija Lizde, Lazara Marinkovic, Dijana Muminovic, Mia Novakova, Andjela Petrovski, Roxana Pop, Senja Vild, Marcella Zanki and Jelena Zigic.