The Long Road through Balkan History
“The Long Road” explores different visions of the common past in the Balkans and how those differing visions impact the present and the future of the region. Almost 20 years since the collapse of the old Yugoslavia, the time has finally come for the ultimate Balkan road movie…
Production team:
Production: SEETV
Producer: Dusan Gajic
Director: Zeljko Mirkovic
Script: Zeljko Mirkovic, Dusan Gajic
Journalists: Sladjana Zaric, Borjan Jovanovski
Consultant: Tim Judah
Camera: Miodrag Trajkovic, Nenad Spasojevic
Sound: Goran Stifanic
Video Editor: Pavle Nikic
Production partners: Optimistic Film (Serbia), New moment Video House (Macedonia).
Synopsis:
The main protagonists are two writers, Miljenko Jergovic from Croatia and Marko Vidojkovic from Serbia. They share the driving in a Yugo, the ultimate symbol of their common past, and drive it from one end to the other of the road once known as the "Highway of Brotherhood and Unity".
It is a journey through the past, present and future…from Slovenia to Macedonia, via Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. Our two drivers aim to look at their common past, find out how history has set them apart, ask where the present is leading them - and have a lot of fun while they are about it.
As the Yugo dodges lorries, fast cars and queues at endless border controls Miljenko and Marko take a wry look at the state of the Balkans. They sing along to nostalgic Yugoslav favorites, comment on the radio news and above all stop to take to task those who can tell them how they got there… and where the highway of history is taking them next.
“Our vision of history has been changed several times over last 50 years, following the changes in the current politics” says Zeljko Mirkovic, Film Director. “We have had many “historical truths” in that period and somehow lost the interest for the truths of others around us. This long journey of 3000 km in a small, red Yugo was our attempt to better understand the Other, but at the same time it helped us to see ourselves better” says Mirkovic.
“It is enough just to take a look on the way some important dates from the recent wars are being commemorated in Serbia and Croatia, or to see conflicted perceptions of the Bosnian war, revived by the Karadzic’s trial in the Hague, or heated debates about the role of “chetniks” and “partisans” in Serbia – to understand that this film is not about the past, but about the present.
Conflicted visions of history are not a speciality of the Balkans, but here too we should find a way to leave them behind, without creating conditions for new conflicts” says Dusan Gajic, producer of the documentary.
Meet the drivers: Miljenko Jergovic & Marko Vidojkovic
Miljenko Jergović born in 1966, has established himself as a writer in both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia and his stories and novels have been translated into more than 20 languages. Jergovic is also a journalist and has published a collection of articles in his acclaimed "Historijska čitanka" (A Reader in History, 1996). His most recent work, "Rabija i sedam meleka" (Rabija and the Seven Angels), became a bestseller in Bosnia & Herzegovina only few days after it was published.
Marko Vidojkovic (left), born in 1975, is a Serbian writer from Belgrade. He has published five novels so far. "Kandze" (The Claws) was the best selling Serbian novel in 2005 and the second most read book in Serbian libraries in 2005. For "Kandze", Vidojkovic was also awarded with the prestigious Golden Bestseller and Petar Kocic's Feather awards. His books have also been translated into English, German and Slovene. He also sings in a punk band called On the Run.
