Želimir Žilnik’s first feature film not only brought Yugoslavia its first and only Golden Bear, but is also regarded as one of the defining beginnings of the Yugoslav Black Wave movement.
The current protests against the regime in Serbia have made the film relevant once again, as many people remain apathetic and uncertain about the next steps when this government is eventually toppled.
Early Works recounts an allegorical story of young people who took part in the 1968 student demonstrations in Belgrade. The protagonists are three young men and a girl, pointedly named Yugoslava, who defy the routines of everyday life and express disdain for the widespread petit-bourgeois mentality. Inspired by the writings of Karl Marx and driven by a desire to ignite revolutionary consciousness among workers and peasants, they travel to remote villages and factories. Confronted with the primitivism and squalor of local communities—alongside their own limitations—they grow disillusioned and bitter. After being arrested and frustrated by the failure of their revolutionary plans, the three young men decide to eliminate Yugoslava, the witness to their impotence.
The film was originally banned in Yugoslavia and only approved for public screening in 1982. Despite the ban it was screened at the 1969 Berlin Film Festival, where it was awarded the main prize in competition, the Golden Bear.
The films of Serbian director Želimir Žilnik are both subversive and deeply humanist. Želimir Žilnik on how cinema can be a form of resistance.
Set in mid-1990s Belgrade, Marble Ass is a comedic docufiction that highlights the city’s LGBTQ+ community as they challenge the toxic masculinity dominating their surroundings.
After more than ten years, Želimir Žilnik returns to narrative filmmaking with Eighty Plus. Following the screening, Geert Mak will engage in conversation with Žilnik.
