Photography by Ivana Todorović
Dimitar Anakiev
POST-YUGOSLAV „BLACK
WAVE “ IN BREST
Between 5 and 11
October, in Brest, Brittany, the 13th
Intergalactic Alternative Image Festival
(Festival Intergalactique de L'images alternative) took place. In its
thirteenth edition it was dedicated to alternative cinematic
creativity in the Balkans, that is, on the territory of former
Yugoslavia. This festival differs from other mainstream conceptual
revues, first of all, by its activist character resulting from the
working methods of the organization Canal Ti Zef – The
Independent Video in Brest which asks for alternative film images
and different approaches to reality in diverse regions of Europe. The
activists of this organization have themselves traveled through the
lands of former Yugoslavia in order to get an insight into social
situations, authors and their films as well as local institutions and
festivals. Such a thorough and profound interest in film as well as
social state of affairs in which authorial works are being created is
very unusual and it bespeaks the value of an activist approach to
society and art. This is the reason why, for sure, the achievements
of Brest Festival are more complex and profound – and their reach
further - than those of conventional film revues, whether national or
international, which mostly regard works of art at the level of their
language and formal aesthetic meaning while the social aspect does
not only elude them but is very often undesirable. The same stands
for the attitude towards authors and authorship which is presently
reduced to the manufacturer/market ratio by the mainstream commercial
culture. But the activists of the Canal Ti Zef in Brest are building
their festival upon authors’ interactions, discussions, socializing
and common self-organization. One of the more spectacular results of
the Intergalactic Alternative Image Festival in Brest is a specific
renewal of Yugoslav film, most of all, of alternative film, i. e.,
the film of social criticism which was known, at the time of
socialist Yugoslavia, by the name “Black Wave.” The appearance of
a new Yugoslav “Black Wave” in Brest (that is, linking and
simultaneous presentation of the post-Yugoslav “Black Wave”) is a
testimony of vitality and continuity of the authorial film in
post-Yugoslavia. (The expression “authorial film” denotes a
specific author’s view freed from stereotyped thinking so that it
is akin to the expression “critical film” since no freedom from
stereotypes is possible without critical thinking). Many critics
consider “Black Wave” as a historical phenomenon though there
used to be and still there are authors, like Želimir Žilnik, who
have gone on being authors of critical or authorial film even in the
days of the “Red Wave” (of the socialist Hollywood) or even
later, up to now, thus defying the concept of a temporary, historical
character of the “Black Wave” and confirming the critical and
authorial film as firmly implanted in the regions of former
Yugoslavia.
In this context, the
13th
Intergalactic Alternative Image Festival is a place of
revelation, awakening and verification of a new post-Yugoslav “Black
Wave” which we, authors of the critical film, have not been fully
aware of due to the circumstances of general decay, wars and the
state’s disintegration. In Brest, though, we have seen some
valuable works in the spirit of the “Black Wave” created by
authors belonging to various generations, namely:
Kristina Rizoska (1991), Macedonia -
“Prologue”, 4 min, 2012
Sashko Potter Micevski (1990),
Macedonia - “(Extra)terrestrial Lee”, 21 min, 2012
Elena Avdija (1987), Kosovo/Switzerland
- “Is It Better Here or There?”, 33 min, 2013
Ognjen Glavonić (1985), Serbia -
“Živan Makes a Punk Festival, 63 min, 2013
Nika Autor (1982), Slovenia - “Report
on the Situation of Asylum Seekers in Republic of Slovenia January
2008-August 2009”, 37 min, 2010
Đuro Gavran (1982), Croatia - ”The
Big Day”, 11 min, 2013
Ivana Todorović (1979), Serbia, “When
I Was a Boy, I Was a Girl”, 30 min, 2013
Dimitar Anakiev (1960) Serbia/Slovenia,
- “Slovenia My Homeland”, 50 min, 2012
The characteristic
of this group of authors is an independent and unaffected attitude
to reality. The topics they deal with are “student’s life”
(Rizoska), “escapism – provincial state of mind (Micevski),
“attitude towards tradition and the past” (Avdija), “life in
poverty” (Glavonić), “asylum seekers” (Autor), “tribal
nationalism – provincial state of mind” (Gavran), “sexual
liberties in provincial society” (Todorović), “erased –
chauvinism as ideology of capitalist transition” (Anakiev). What is
eye-catching is scarcity of those from the generation of the sixties
and seventies whose authorship took place at the time of the war in
Yugoslavia; however, the author’s continuity was still upheld
throughout the disintegration. A dominant expressive form of this
group of authors is a portrait which Glavonić expands into a story
about an event while Anakiev interweaves two portraits into a story
about the erased and Gavran creates some sort of collective portrait.
The approach to the protagonists is, with Glavonić, Torodović and
Anakiev, interactive – similar to that of a feature film – with
the director participating in the creation of his protagonist’s
situation while the majority of the others opt for an “objective”
approach within which, still, various subjective processes are taking
place. Thus, for instance, Avdija in her documentary inserts a family
video material which deepens her theme. Obviously, the author’s
truthfulness is not at all brought into question by the author’s
creativity. The heroes appearing in the works of the critical authors
are, as a rule, so-called “small people” through whom the authors
speak about their own times. Mostly the authors opt for a realistic
approach to their themes and protagonists though some of them still
turn to stylization which, in the case of Rizovska, Micevski and
Glavonić, takes the form of a discreet dose of humor which makes
easier to access the theme. Somewhat older authors, like Anakiev and
Todorović, already possess an established authorial continuity while
the other authors are yet to further confirm their authorial
affiliations.
At the 13th
Intergalactic Alternative Image Festival also shown are
documentary films about the happenings on the territory of former
Yugoslavia made by foreign directors as well as those of home authors
which could not be ranked in the category of critical (or authorial)
film. These films are posited as a mirror to the authors of
post-Yugoslav “Black Wave” and thus they enable a complex insight
into Yugoslav reality. But, why aren’t films like “Cinema
Communisto”, “Zabrđe, A Village Without Women”, “Cosmo” or
“I Am Here!” ranked as alternative films but as those of the
mainstream tendency? The reason is that the authors, instead of their
independent view of the theme, use a certain ideological position, a
certain stereotyped worldview, no matter if it is the matter of
adulating the ideology of nationalism, dealing with the theme
sensationally or commercially or affirming certain politics.
The activists of Canal Ti Zef have put
together an intricate mosaic of Yugoslav film in post-Yugoslavia in
their attempts to understand social developments as well as to show a
variety of cinematic tendencies which is of historical importance for
our region. The 13th Intergalactic Alternative Image
Festival is a true festival of Balkan and Breton culture that
was given a special impression by likewise high-quality music
programs in which the performers of the Balkan music were Bretons
(along with the presentation of 33 films and many discussion
sessions, 6 concerts were held). The interaction of Bretons
and Balkan people through film, music and common
self-organization have, to sum up, left an indelible impression of
friendship and mutual understanding which is, after all, a mission of
art.
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