Serbian documentary Landscapes of Resistance by Marta Popivoda has recently had its Asian premiere – in the main international competition program of the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival in South Korea, where it was awarded the Best Film Award. The project of the film Landscapes of Resistance was also supported at one of the competitions organized by Film Center Serbia.
The film Landscapes of Resistance records a journey through the memories of the anti-fascist fighter Sonja (97), one of the first partisans in Serbia, who was also among the leaders of the resistance movement in Auschwitz. As Sonja talks, we travel through the landscapes of her revolutionary youth – the forests and mountains of Serbia and the muddy terrain of Auschwitz, recorded as they look today – as well as through her small apartment in downtown Belgrade, where she lives with her husband and cat. As a great narrator, Sonja is able to talk about events from the past without “remembering”, which directly transports us to the specific atmosphere and way of thinking that gave rise to the anti-fascist resistance in Yugoslavia. We let her story travel through time, towards the bodies of new generations, suggesting that it is always possible to think and resist.
The protagonists of the film are Sofia Sonja Vujanović (Stanišić), Ivo Vujanović and Ivanka Maksović. The script and direction of the film are by Marta Popivoda, the script and dramaturgy are by Ana Vujanović, the director of photography is Ivan Marković, the editor is Jelena Maksimović, the sound designer is Jakov Munižaba, while the sound mix was done by Simon Apostolou.
The producers of Landscapes of Resistance are Marta Popivoda and Dragana Jovović in front of the production company Theory at Work from Serbia, as well as Jasmina Sijerčić in front of Bocalupo Films from France. The film was realized with the support of the Film Center of Serbia, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Reconstruction Women’s Fund, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, ARTE France – La Lucarne and CNC – Center National de la Cinématographie et de l’Image Animée.