Private Project

The City That Has Peace

"The City That Has Peace" is a documentary film following the rise and fall of Zagreb's International Student Friendship Club. Exploring topics of solidarity, war, and community, Sam Bushara and Mohamed Al Younis lead us through the largely forgotten history of Non-Aligned Zagreb. The film follows their arrival to an unknown place as young students from former colonies, through the height of the city's multicultural youth centre concentrated in the International Student Friendship Club, ending with the Club's eviction and arson in the wartime 1990s, symbolised by the flawed, lonely statue of Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman. Looking back on their journeys, they reflect on the tenderness and unity they encountered in Zagreb but which are no longer there.

  • Petra Matić
    Director
  • Petra Matić
    Writer
  • Petra Matić
    Producer
  • Sam Abdalla Bushara
    Key Cast
  • Mohamed Al Younis
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Grad koji ima mir
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 41 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 12, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    0 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Croatia
  • Country of Filming:
    Croatia
  • Language:
    Croatian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • GALERIJA VN: EXHIBITION "NON-ALIGNED ZAGREB"
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    September 7, 2023
  • THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS: GLOBAL EXCHANGE WORKSHOP I RACIALIZATION AND THE CONTESTED CULTURAL POLITICS OF NON-ALIGNMENT
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    September 4, 2023
    Zagreb Premiere
Director Biography - Petra Matić

Petra Matić is an independent researcher, artist, and activist based in Zagreb. She is a researcher for Trešnjevka Neighbourhood Museum and President of the Cultural Association Jutro as well as a member of the Governing Board of Cultural Centre Peščenica. Her work has been presented at documenta fifteen, Prague Festival of Photography, and the Ljubljana Design Biennial BIO26. She has collaborated with the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka, the Technical Museum of Nikola Tesla, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Typhlological Museum, all in Zagreb. Her work deals with the heritage of non-alignment, the possibilities of welcoming spaces, and collective and anticolonial practices.

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Director Statement

Underneath the nationalist nightmare I grew up in, there used to be a colourful, tolerant, diverse city that keeps on haunting me.