The online premiere of the documentary film Makavejev Case or the Trial in a Movie Theater by Goran Radovanović is scheduled for today, September 15, at The Columbia University in New Yorkstarting at 4 pm local time. The premiere will take place via a Zoom webinar and will be streamed live via YouTube. The screening is organized by the Njegoš Endowment for Serbian Language and Literature and the Center of Central and Eastern Europe at the Harriman Institute.
The Makavejev Case or the Trial in a Movie Theater explores the position of artists in socialist Yugoslavia and focuses on the political and social climate in which, in the 1970s, Dusan Makavejev’s film WR: Mysteries of the Organism was condemned publicly under the auspices of the Communist Party. Radovanović’s film is not only a homage to one of the greatest filmmakers from this area, but also reveals the greatest trauma of socialist Yugoslavia: an attempt to establish democracy without essential freedom, or an attempt to establish freedom without true democracy. Or, as one of the participants in the discussion held in June 1971, after the screening of the film WR: The Mystery of the Organism in Novi Sad, would shout with ideological fervor: “We have the right in our democratic community to proscribe that which we don’t like in this country! ”
Makavejev Case was written by Goran Radovanović (who also directed the film) and Boris Trbić. The film was shot by Dragan Djordjević, Aleksandar Angelovski, Miroslav Jakovljević and Radoslav Vladić, and edited by Maja Kokić. The music score is by Ognjan Milosević. The film was produced by Nama Film and Oktobar Film, with the support of Film Center Serbia. The executive producer is Predrag Jakovljević, and the producer is Jesenka Jasniger.
This film has already won two awards, one a few days ago at the History Film Festival in Rijeka, Croatia, where it was awarded the Grand Prix of the festival and the award for best production. This film premiered on February 25th last year at the 47th FEST, and on that occasion won two awards: the Belgrade winner (as the best film in the program “Serbian film – Serbia and friends”) and the “Milutin Čolić” award. It was alsi part of festival programs in Thessaloniki, Trieste, Rotterdam and Lisbon.