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Milestones

Milestones is a documentary film about memorial monuments built in the former Yugoslavia after World War II. It was a time when art and culture were key drivers of building a new social identity and an educational tool for community. Decades after the dismay of the last socialist traces in the territory of former Yugoslavia, amazing memorial monuments persist to prove that art can survive ideologies and political systems, always finding new paths to the audience.

  • Jelena Radenovic
    Director
    Turning point
  • Jelena Radenovic
    Producer
    Turning point
  • Miodrag Zivkovic
    Key Cast
    sculptor
  • Olga Manojlovic Pintar
    Key Cast
    historian
  • Jan Kempenaers
    Key Cast
    photographer
  • Djordje Kadijevic
    Key Cast
    art historian and film director
  • Branislav Dimitrijevic
    Key Cast
    art historian
  • Andy Day
    Key Cast
    photographer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 1 minute 38 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Serbia
  • Country of Filming:
    Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia
  • Language:
    English, Serbian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Free Zone Film Festival
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    November 10, 2019
    World Premiere
    Special Mention of the Jury
  • Balkan New Film Festival BaNeFF
    Stockholm
    Sweden
    December 12, 2019
    Best Film of the Festival
  • UnderhillFest
    Podgorica
    Montenegro
    June 18, 2020
    Audience Award
  • South East European Film Festival SEEfest
    Los Angeles
    United States
    July 15, 2020
  • Balkan Panorama Film Festival BPFF
    Izmir
    Turkey
    October 19, 2020
  • Kosovo i Metohija International Film Festival
    Gračanica
    Kosovo
    November 4, 2020
  • First Frame International Film Festival
    Sarajevo
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    November 10, 2020
    Special Mention of the Jury
  • ProToPost - Communism International Film Festival
    Milan
    Italy
    November 6, 2020
    Best Topic
  • Euro-In Film festival of European and independent film
    Novi Sad
    Serbia
    December 24, 2020
Distribution Information
  • Five Stars Film Distribution
    Country: Serbia
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Jelena Radenovic

Jelena Radenović is a Serbian film director, actress, film theoretician and acting pedagogue. Born in Belgrade in 1979, she completed undergraduate studies of acting at the Academy of Fine Arts in her hometown. In 2012 she earned her PhD diploma in Film theory (Theory of Arts and Media) at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) in Belgrade. In her dissertation work she examined forms of film acting, putting the accent on Hollywood musicals as the most complex acting creation. This work is considered an important didactic tool and was published by the Film Center of Serbia. From 2007-2012 Jelena worked as a TV journalist, editing her own TV show. Her first introduction with working on a documentary film happened in 2012, when she was invited to be the assistant director in the film "Valter". This film told the story about the well-known Yugoslav intelligence-officer and a Partisan commander Vladimir Perić - Valter, who operated in German-occupied Sarajevo during World War II. His name has been already immortalized by a famous Serbian actor in the post-war movie spectacle "Walter Defends Sarajevo". After the great success of "Valter", Jelena started her independent directing career. Her debut film was the documentary "Turning point" (2015). This film depicted and explored the common dilemma of young people in Serbia about leaving their country and starting a new life somewhere abroad. Her second film "Milestones" (2019), about monuments built in former Yugoslavia during the period of socialism, was shown at many significant domestic and international festivals and on the National television of Serbia - RTS. The film has won five awards. Jelena is the author of the first film training program for actors on film and she teaches at the “Fokus” - school for film-makers at Kolarac People’s University in the center of Belgrade. Since 2017, she has been working as an associate of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, creating videos (short documentary forms) about their work.

FILMOGRAPHY:
documentary film "Valter" (2012) - Assistant Director
documentary film "Kuda dalje"/"Turning point" (2015) Director and Creator
documentary film "Umetnost sećanja/Milestones" (2019) Director and Producer
documentary film "A Istok reka teče/And the river still flows" (2022) Director and Producer

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Director Statement

Art and culture are universal values, which will save the world and keep the identity of people. In times of relativism and general insecurity, in times of war ruled by the logic of destroying other’s identity, in which artistic and architectural works are being annihilated, maintaining cultural heritage, or in this particular case - monumental sculptures, is an act of resistance. In order to save something, first of all we need to recognize it as valuable and significant. Monuments are a result of human spirit and common (joint) efforts made to build them. They communicate specific values, keep collective memory and represent material reminders that it is always possible to go back on the right path where art plays an important role in shaping the society.