Spring Edition

Spring Edition 2021

Eight films were presented in first Spring Edition (9th – 17th April 2021): „The Death of Film and My Father too“ directed by Dani Rosenberg, „New Order“, by Mexican director Michel Franco, debut feature by Philipp Yuryev „Young Wheler“, „Servants“ by Ivan Ostrochovský, another debut feature by Jeanette Nordahl „Wildland“ and a documentary „One of us“ by Đuro Gavran.

As a part of this programme, two Yugoslav Classics were presented: „Fragrance of Wild Flowers“ by Srđan Karanović and „Pavle Pavlović“ by Puriša Đorđević.

„One of us“ is posing the question - how do we speak about the horror with which we are faced but cannot come to terms with? The classmates have gathered for their fifteenth high-school reunion, reminiscing about their adolescent adventures. As the evening progresses, different dinner courses and drinks are brought out and the conversations become more open, yet there is one topic that everyone avoids, until alcohol encourages them to mention the shocking letter they have all received. The letter is a torturous confession from one of their former classmates, in which she reveals the brutal abuse she endured as a child and during high school. 

„Wildland“ follows Ida who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life. 

„Young Wheler“ follows Leshka who lives in an isolated village on the Bering Strait, which is located between Chukotka and Alaska and divides Russia from America. He is a teenager, and like most men in his village, he is a whale hunter who leads a very uneventful life out at the far edge of the world. But the internet’s recent arrival in Leshka’s village means the predominantly male population now gathers in a shed every evening to watch gorgeous girls thousands of kilometers away dance on the screen of a constantly buffering erotic webcam chat site. For most of the guys, it's just a bit of fun, but Leshka takes it seriously. He encounters a beautiful girl on the chat site and falls in love with her. Leshka’s first love transforms him beyond recognition: he is now determined to find the camgirl in the real world, where a crazy journey awaits him. 

„New Order“ is riveting, suspenseful dystopian drama. A lavish upper-class wedding goes awry in an unexpected uprising of class warfare that gives way to a violent coup d’etat. As seen through the eyes of the sympathetic young bride and the servants who work for – and against – her wealthy family, NEW ORDER breathlessly traces the collapse of one political system as a harrowing replacement springs up in its wake. 

 „The death of Cinema and My Father too“ tells the story of the director who tracks his father’s final days with a handheld camera, striving to freeze time and arm himself against the impending grief. The dying father is unsentimental towards the unavoidable end, dismissing any commemoration. A hybrid blend of fiction and facts, tinged with autobiographical references, where cinema crashes upon the walls of reality. A plangent and self-reflexive journey that juxtaposes the everlasting flow of time against the fleeting moment of death, seeking inner catharsis. 

„Servants“ is set in 1980. Michal and Juraj are students at a theological seminary in totalitarian Czechoslovakia. Fearing the dissolution of the school, its tutors are molding the seminarians into a shape satisfactory to the ruling Communist Party. Each of the young students must decide if he will give in to temptation and choose the easier path of collaboration with the regime, or if he will subject himself to draconian surveillance by the secret police. 

In Yugoslav classic „Fragrance of Wild Flowers“, famous actor leaves the theater and goes to live on a barge with a boatman friend. The story of his actions spreads and people from his environment initially tried to persuade him to return to work and his family, are attracted by the rebellion themselves and remain on the river in search of a new life. In the end, the question remains who really found what... 

„Pavle Pavlović“ is another Yugoslav classic in this selection. In a television interview, the young intellectual Pavle Pavlović talks about the factory, his friends and himself. Many saw the truth in his spontaneity and sincerity. This causes the dissatisfaction of the director who requests a written correction. To deny the truth and remain silent, he offers him a large comfortable apartment. Pavle Pavlović accepts and that is the moment he has to pay for. Comrades condemn him, reject him and he loses his job. He finds a job in a shipyard where he shows exceptional diligence. In the accident that happens, he shows great courage and gains recognition.