Yugoslavia for Beginners

“My mother travelled only once to a foreign country. And it was Yugoslavia. As a child, I heard a lot about the beauties of that country, where people lived in perfect harmony. My mother was a communist, but she knew that the Eastern Block was problematic. However, Yugoslavia was different. She made an official visit and thought this was the way an ideal society should look. Now my mother is dead and that country is completely shattered. I often think about it.” – Lars von Trier, director This is a mildly entertaining, “latently” educational and retro modern series which refreshes the memory and encourages further discussion. This nostalgic and emotional documentary comprises 16 episodes with various reports on cultural concepts pertaining to everyday life in Yugoslavia, in the way former Yugoslav citizens recall them – with nostalgia, sarcasm, humor and without any “preconceived emotions”. The series evokes private memories, without exploring official historiography or further ideological analysis. On the contrary, this is an entertaining and appealing TV program which evokes memories, especially of details which cannot be found in CVs, ephemeral “trifles”, which largely defined the colour and taste of everyday life. The series covers over a hundred concepts (phenomena, people, objects), which were the essence of everyday life in former Yugoslavia and which had an impact on the identity of individuals as well as the entire community. The initial choice covered a wide range of topics: popular brands, show business, fashion, sport, press, mass political rituals… “As expected, the series contains not only interesting archive footage, but also dynamic editing of appropriately structured sequences, clear flow of chapters and overall, successful combination of visual and textual.” – Politika “Interesting and well-researched topics, excellent production, relevant and eloquent interviewees (even if they are not likeable in other contexts), private voices of presenters, and above all, content which has emotional, sentimental as well as educational value.” – Mediaserbia.com