Yugoslav Classics

Restored film treasures in the Yugoslav Classics Selection 2023

This year, the Network of Festivals of the Adriatic Region's Yugoslav Classics Selection 2023 brought three restored film classics and one TV series to the regional film audiences as part of the program of major regional film festivals, members of the Network of Festivals of the Adriatic Region.

These were Life of a Shock Force Worker (Slike iz života udarnika) by Bahrudin Bata Čengić, Love and Fashion (Ljubav i moda) by Ljubomir Radičević, Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator (Ljubavni slučaj ili tragedija službenice PTT) by Dušan Makavejev, and the TV series Grey Home (Sivi dom).

A restored 4K version of the gem of ex-Yugoslav cinematography, Life of a Shock Force Worker by the BiH director Bahrudin Bata Čengić, was screened at this year's 29th Sarajevo Film Festival in a special pre-festival screening, and then at the 80th Venice Film Festival as part of the Venice Classics Selection. The film in all its restored splendor will also be screened at the Zagreb Film Festival, Auteur Film Festival in Belgrade and the International Film Festival in Ljubljana.

Life of a Shock Force Worker was filmed in 1972 as a production of STUDIO FILM Sarajevo, and premiered the same year. Based on a script by Branko Vučićević, it was inspired by the lives of miners whose efforts in the first years of socialist Yugoslavia resulted in their portrayal as national heroes. Alija Sirotanović, to whom the film is dedicated, was one of them.

The film was censored at some point, but in the restored version the audience can see the original ending the director was forced to cut out.

The main role of the miner, who despite the prestigious title lives a modest and not at all glamorous life, is played by Adem Čejvan, with Zaim Muzaferija, Stole Aranđelović and Dragomir Bojanić in supporting roles. Director of photography is the Slovenian filmmaker and photography director Karpo Aćimović Godina.

The leader and originator of the film restoration project is the Slovenian film archive Slovenska kinoteka in partnership with Film Center Sarajevo, Austrian Film Archive and Croatian State Archive, with financial support of the Creative Europe MEDIA Sub-Programme and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

The 1960 Love and Fashion by Ljubomir Radičević is a musical comedy starring some of the biggest Yugoslav stars of that time, such as Beba Lončar, Mija Aleksić and Miodrag Petrović Čkalja. This is also the only film directed by Ljubomir Radičević, but generations have remembered it for its striking music score which attained a cult status. The film also features some of the biggest Yugoslav music stars, such as Gabi Novak, Ivo Robić and Arsen Dedić.

To find the money to organize an airshow, a group of students organizes a fashion show for the company Yugochic, using petty scams among other things. The goal is noble, the show is a success and no harm is done to anyone, including student Sonja and young designer Bora who eventually resolve their differences.

As part of the program of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region, the film was screened at this year's 29th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator by the prominent Black Wave director Dusan Makavejev was filmed in 1967 and remains one of the best known films of this particular movement.

The story follows a young postal worker Isabella (Eva Ras) who starts a love romance with a serious young man, Ahmed (Slobodan Aligrudić). But while he’s away on business, the girl embarks on an adventure with her pushy work colleague Mića (Miodrag Andrić, a.k.a. Ljuba Moljac). The girl becomes pregnant, and when the young man returns from his business trip a conflict ensues between them, ending in tragedy. This film pushed the boundaries, mainly concerning human sexuality and eroticism on the movie screen, and the memorable scenes include that of naked Eva Ras with a black cat, as well as the appearance of the then-famous and first-ever Serbian sexologist, renowned scientist Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Kostic, appearing as himself.

The film was screened at this year's Herceg Novi Film Festival as part of the Network program.

Grey Home is a Yugoslav feature TV series, produced by Television Belgrade and premiered on the Yugoslav Radio & Television in 1986.

The series follows the lives of wards at the Correctional Home for Children and Youth in Kruševac. The authors of the series were screenwriter Gordan Mihić and director Darko Bajić. It stood out because of the impressive cast and attracted attention not only as a rare example of the prison drama genre in Yugoslavia at that time, but also on account of its exceptionally grim tone and explicit scenes of violence, some of which provoked criticism as they were aired in primetime slots. Young actor Zoran Cvijanović, in the role of the psychopathic ward Šojka, left an extraordinary impression on the audience. Two years later, Bajić and Mihić made a sequel in the form of a full-length feature film The Forgotten (Zaboravljeni).

This year's Sarajevo Film Festival featured two newly restored episodes of this drama series: Greenhorn (Gušter) and Hard Labor (Robija).

The Yugoslav Classics Selection was designed to preserve the common cultural heritage and improve the understanding of and respect for it.