IDFA Special: Invoked

After almost fifty years of communism in Yugoslavia and a decade after the death of President Josip Broz Tito, Serbia held its first free elections. Even more free than necessary, the new law allowed people who collected only 100 signatures to run for president, resulting in a host of unlikely candidates, including a seller of used brooms, a philosopher with delusions and a registered junkie who ran in front of the Great Party of R ‘n ‘R which advocated for who “sex, debauchery, madness and drugs.” This parade of strange characters competed against Slobodan Milošević, the then-communist leader, who easily won the elections and led the country into a decade of bloodshed.

Invoked explores this prologue to the most tragic chapters of Yugoslav history through rapid editing of clips from talk shows, election commercials and news broadcasts, immersing the viewer in the pandemonium of pre-war Yugoslavia. The archival footage is complemented by explorations of the equally peculiar lives the ex-candidates lead today as they reflect on their experiences.

After the film, we will engage in conversation with the directors reflecting on the elaborate way this film was constructed, and make connections to today’s world in which populism and nationalism seem to be gaining the upper hand.