| The world we live in—how did it come to be, what was it built on, and what will it be? These are questions young people in Serbia ask in their movies. The seven short films of this programme, all by young Serbian directors, deal with these questions in their own way; what connects them is a somewhat restless yet not hectic world and the search for some clue to the present and maybe the future hidden in the past. “Pera Doesn’t Know When His Wife Gave Birth, Let Alone a Hippo” by Teodora Arsic, which shows everyday life in a zoo aesthetically unexpectedly. How did the animals come to be there, and where do the humans fit in? The search for humans is also launched in Aphotic Zone’s “You Won’t Find Me”, a work between an art collage and a music video. Set entirely in one (or more) virtual reality of the world is “Walks That Won’t Happen” by Mina Simendić, who, like the programme’s curators, participated in last year’s Connecting Futures programme. In her documentary, she explores different versions of the past – all true and yet wrong. The question of right and wrong is also explored in “Miasma” by Petar Tkalec, where a young inventor tries to defeat death. The life and death of an industrial company shown in Tara Gajovic’s beautifully shot “Minel”. Finally, the programme also indicates two world premieres: “In the Canopy, I Bloom“ by Savina Smederevac, which deals with decay, life and memory, and “Mom Is Not Single” by Veljko Petrovic, a slightly satirical, maybe even provocative film, that combines the portrait of a family with current and ancient politics. – Vid Radičević (Belgrad), Paula Ruppert (Munich) |
| Svet u kom živimo – kako je nastao, na čemu je sagrađen, šta će postati? Ovo su pitanja koja mladi ljudi u Srbiji postavljaju u svojim filmovima. Sedam kratkih filmova iz ovog programa, koje su kreirali mladi srpski režiseri, bave se ovim pitanjima svaki na svoj način; ono što ih povezuje je donekle nemiran, ali ne i užurban ili naporan svet i potraga za nekim tragom o sadašnjosti i možda budućnosti, skrivenim u prošlosti. “Pera ne zna kada mu se žena porodila, a ne nilski konj” Teodore Arsić pokazuje svakodnevni život u zoo-vrtu, na estetično neočekivani način. Kako su životinje završile tamo, i gde se tu uklapaju ljudi? Potraga za ljudima je takođe prikazana u “Nećeš me naći” od Afotičke zone, radu između kolaža i muzičkog spota. Kompletno postavljen u jednoj (ili više) virtuelnih realnosti sveta – “Šetnje koje se neće desiti” Mine Simendić, koja je bila učesnica u prošlogodišnjem Connecting Futures programu, kao i selektori ovog programa. U svom dokumentarcu ona istražuje različite verzije prošlosti – od kojih su sve istinite, ali i pogrešne. Pitanje dobrog i lošeg je istraženo i u filmu “Mijazma” (Petar Tkalec), kada mladi izumitelj pokušava da pobedi smrt. Život i smrt industrijske kompanije je istovremeno prikazan u Minelu, divno snimljenom filmu Tare Gajović. “Krošnja” Savine Smederevac je film koji se bavi propadanjem, životom i pamćenjem i kombinuje portret porodice sa prošlom i sadašnjom politikom u kojoj “Mama nije sama” Veljka Petrovića. – Vid Radičević (Belgrad), Paula Ruppert (Munich) |
Krošnja (In the Canopy, I Bloom)
Savina Smederevac
RS 2024
12 min | Serbian
Mr. S. recalls his memories after he died in the nature. Only through the fragments and not his presence, the audience is immersed into his previous life.
Minel
Tara Gajovic
RS 2024
15 min | no dialogues
The factory for the production of electrical transformers “Minel – Ripanj” was built in the Belgrade settlement Ripanj in 1953. For the needs of Minel’s worker, in 1959 the Colony neighbourhood was built near the factory. Around 300 people live there today. My grandfather, who is like a ghost, walks with me through the premises where he once worked. – Tara Gajovic
Pera ne zna kad mu se žena porodila, a ne nilski konj
(Pera Doesn’t Know When His Wife Gave Birth, Let Alone A Hippo)
Teodora Arsic
RS 2023
11 min
In the Zoo Hotel on the hill there are many guests, wild guests. Birds, tigers, lions, snakes, eagles… The old guests don‘t leave, and the new guests keep arriving. As time passes, panic erupts. Birds fly hysterically, tigers roar, snakes hiss. They all want to be healed and space is their only cure. They can only be saved by the guards, creatures that have never known a different fate then their own. Those creatures have features similar to theirs, but they speak in different tongues, so their hopes and dreams can’t be answered, but they always find a way to communicate. Instead of healing, man offers them something else. That wild thing inside them is tamed. The crisis is eliminated, the animals have retreated into the corners of their rooms. They continue to live, but now in their dreams. They don’t ask questions, they just stay silent longing for freedom.
Nije mama sama (Mom Is Not Single)
Veljko Petrovic
SR 2023
14 min | Serbian
For her fiftieth birthday, a mother invites her two sons to tell them that after ten years of being single, she has found a boyfriend. This news, in an absurd way, also reveals other family secrets.
Nećeš Me Naći (You Won’t Find Me)
Aphotic Zone
SR 2023
5 min | Serbian
”You Won‘t Find Me” explores passion, emotions and forgiveness in a relationship, leaving room for different interpretations and reflecting the dynamics of love relationships. As for the video itself, I wanted to combine aesthetics from old encyclopedias with musical form in a bizarre view of our civilization. – Luka Marinčević (Aphotic Zone)
šetnje koje se neće desiti (walks that won’t happen)
Mina Simendić
SR 2023
7 min | Serbian
”walks that won‘t happen” is a short experimental film, filmed entirely inside of digital spaces of StreetView, on Google Maps. The film documents a virtual walk, from director‘s current to their previous place of residency, while voiceover makes a poetic remark on the fact that photographic information on those maps is almost 10 years old, thus portraying the city falsely. Strolling down the digital archive of a long lost moment, the subject is making a walk that won‘t happen, that can‘t happen anymore – simulating some long lost opportunities. Everything that could‘ve happened, in a reality that no longer exists.
Mijazma (Miasma)
Petar Tkalec
SR 2024
10 min | Serbian
A young scientist tries to cure a dying old woman using an experimental machine he’s built, slowly losing his sanity in the process.