Cinema Komunisto tells the story of a country that no longer exists, except for in the movies. Taking us on a journey through the crumbling remnants of the former Yugoslavia and President Josip Broz Tito’s state-funded film industry, this fascinating historical documentary cracks the vaults at the famed Avala Film Studios – home to big-budget productions starring the likes of Richard Burton, Sophia Loren and Orson Welles – and explores the rise and fall of the cinematic illusion called Yugoslavia. Using rare excerpts from dozens of forgotten Yugoslav films, never-seen-before archive footage from film sets, and revealing interviews with many of the film industry’s key players, including Tito’s personal film projectionist, Cinema Komunisto recreates the narrative of a former country: the stories constructed for the screen and the ones hidden within the frame.
"The fascinating and absorbing documentary Cinema Komunisto is a must for film fans...quite wonderfully tracks the history of former Yugoslavia through its cinema."
Mark Adams
Screen International
“One of the most riveting, well-researched, elegantly-rendered chronicles of a fallen era to ever be captured on film - and a must-see for film aficionados.”
Sam Weisberg
Screen Comment
“Critic's Pick! A documentary collage of 60 years of Yugoslavian film under Communist rule.”
Steve Dollar
Wall Street Journal
“Four stars! An exhaustively researched and elegantly edited documentary.”
Wendy Ide
The Times
"A great documentary about the cinema of Yugoslavia."
Simon Kinnear
Total Film
"An elegantly constructed memory machine."
Michael Atkinson
The Village Voice
"Excellent! A highly entertaining slab of social, political and cinematic history."
Little White Lies
"Enlivened with a bright, bubbly spirit the film is a nostalgic love letter to, and chronicle of, a country that only existed on film. A venerable gold mine for film lovers."
Twitch
Winner! Chicago International Film Festival 2011 - Best Documentary
Winner! Trieste Film Festival, Italy 2011 - Best Documentary
Winner! FIPRESCI Serbia 2011 - Best Documentary
Winner! Festival International du cinema d'Alger, Algeria 2011 - Grand Prix du Jury
Winner! Focal International Award - Best use of Archive Footage
Official Selection - Tribeca Film Festival 2011
Official Selection - Hot Docs International Documentary Festival 2011
Official Selection - International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA)
Bonus Scenes
Premiere Sava Center (Short Film)| Photo Komunisto Gallery
Cinema Komunisto Trailer| Director’s Commentary
Mila’s Video Diary
Interview with Daniel J. Goudling
