Private Project

Belgrade Live: Systems of Rebellion

From a slaughterhouse turned techno-cathedral, to former brick manufacturing plant now site to the largest art festival in Serbia, to an alley pissour turned independent arts space, BELGRADE LIVE roams the city with artists, musicians, media producers and occasional anarchists, squatters, and occupiers to discover where Belgrade's creative energy transforms the city.

  • Deborah James
    Director
  • Dejana Erich
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    55 minutes 57 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Serbia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Deborah James

James’ interactive documentary work, (RE)ACTIVE CITIES, was chosen for a Central European University’s summer 2015 incubator program. A sample of an ongoing audio documentary project, sitting on two stools, can be found here http://www.derichdjames.com/sitting-on-two-stools-interviews/ BELGRADE LIVE: SYSTEMS OF REBELLION is her first feature.

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Director Statement

Media captured the 1970s and early 1980s Yugoslavia challenged the status quo of the socialist culture, explored contemporary themes, examined social tensions and contradictions, adopted influences of the U.S., and supported a hyperlocal culture. Combining visual research methods, observation, and personal interviews in Belgrade, Serbia (a center of alternative media production in the region and former capital of Yugoslavia), this research examines – what made it over the wall after the fall – the persistence of alternative media created during these years. The research finds that this digital revival is not an act of nationalistic nostalgia, but the development of an emerging post-nation culture of practice that challenges the simplistic memories of the past reconstituting a public memory of diverse perspectives, artistic interpretations, and lived experience of displacement and conflict.