Cinema Komunisto: A History of Yugoslavia Told Through Film
Cinema Komunisto is a meticulously researched documentary depicting Yugoslavian cinema between 1946 and 1991. Already a film festival favourite, Serbian director Mila Turajlic’s debut is a captivating and spellbinding documentary delving deep into the history of Yugoslav cinema.
As the film’s opening titles proclaim, Cinema Komunisto is ‘a history of a country that no longer exists… except in movies.’ An intriguing start to an engaging true-life tale of intrigue, passion, war and Hollywood stars.
Mila has been successfully touring her debut documentary at film festivals worldwide, picking up awards and plaudits as she goes. Most recently she gained praise at New York’s prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. Cinema Komunisto was screened in London as part of this week’s (Post) Yugoslav Film Festival at UCL.
Constantine’s Crossing by Dejan Stojiljković: Book Review
Nazis, Roman emperors and the quest for a holy relic, Dejan Stojiljković’s novel Constantine’s Crossing has all the elements you could expect from a Dan Brown-wannabe. Throw in some vampires and any writer worth his salt might just hit the jackpot.
What this does not say is that, while Constantine’s Crossing is a pacey mish-mash of touchstones from the horror thriller genre, it is not just a bandwagon-jumper riding the vampire wave. This story, with one foot in fact and another in fantasy, has far darker tones than the current glut of teenage bloodlust re-treads.
Rather than revelling in blood and gore, Constantine’s Crossing tackles themes of individual responsibility in war, the root of human evil, and a people’s duty to resist occupation. As well as ancient legend, it confronts some more modern beliefs about how people reacted to occupation by the German army.
EXIT: Strengthened by a History of Struggle, Activism and Headlines
As music fans prepare to kick of the summer festival season across Europe, W!LD RooSTeR thought it was prime time to look at some of the headline grabbers in the history of one of the most exciting events on the calendar: Serbia’s world-class EXIT Festival.
EXIT has grown into an annual four-day festival attracting 200,000 people to the Petrovaradin Fortress in the small Vojvodina town of Novi Sad. Each year, more than 6,000 visitors attend from the UK and those figures are still rising. Since 2007, more than half of all EXIT visitors have come from abroad, with the UK its primary overseas focus.
Montenegro Gay Pride Cancelled, Claiming Lack of State Support
Homophobic attackers struck in Podgorica just hours before organisers of Montenegro’s first Gay Pride had to cancel the event claiming lack of state support. Podgorica Pride – scheduled for May 31 – has been indefinitely postponed due to the apparent lack of state commitment or support for the LGBT population in Montenegro, organisers said on Tuesday.
Hours earlier, members of the organising committee had been attacked after leaving a concert of around 600 members of the LGBT community, friends, supporters, many of whom came with their families and children. The concert by Croatian band Lollobrigida was organised by Juventas under the banner ‘Love is the Attitude’, as part of their third year of activities to support to mark International Day Against Homophobia. Violence had erupted earlier at the concert, when tear gas was thrown.
