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Notes 1 Theoretical and Methodological Considerations 1. According to Kellner (2010, p. 43) the term ‘cinema’ has richer connotations than ‘film’, as cinema refers to ‘the system of production, distributional, reception, as well as the genres, styles and aesthetics’. Thus from now on, by following Kellner’s logic, I will use film and cinema interchangeably to describe past and contemporary cinema in Western Balkans. 2. I am referring here to Foucault’s essay ‘What is an Author?’ (1994) and Barthes’ essay ‘The Death of Author’ (1977). 2 Once Upon a Time in Sarajevo 1. See Chapter 3 for further discussion of this issue. 2. The Sarajevo Haggadah is an illuminated manuscript that contains the illus- trated traditional text of the Passover Haggadah which accompanies the Passover Seder. It is one of the oldest Sephardic Haggadahs in the world, origi- nating from Spain. The Haggadah is presently owned by the Bosnian National Museum in Sarajevo, where it is on permanent display. 3. Kusturica’s TV films are Nevjeste dolaze/The brides are comingg (Kusturica 1978) and Bife Titanik/Buffet Titanic (1979). I will briefly discuss Buffet Titanicc in Chapter 6. 4. Cvijetin Mijatovic (1913–1992) became the first President of the joint Yugoslav Presidency after Tito’s death in May 1980. He presided over the Yugoslav Presidency for one year. 3 An Historical Fable of a Country That Is No More 1. Janaki (1878–1954) and Milton (1882–1964) Manaki are considered to be the Balkans’ pioneering filmmakers. They were born in the land that is part of Macedonia today and their ethnic origin is Vlach—a minority group that still lives in mountainous parts of Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia. The brothers spent most of their productive life in the Macedonian town of Bitola, where they owned a photographic studio and cinema theatre. After their death, the impressive archive of their static and moving images was deposited in the Macedonian film archive. The annual Manaki Brothers International Film Camera Festival, commemorating them, is held in Bitola. The two scenes I discuss are from the film Spinning Women in Avdela and can be seen on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jnoC3MQqVY. 2. See Chapter 5 for more insight into Ulysses’ Gaze. 3. For the film’s script, Kusturica collaborated with Dusan Kovacevic; a leading Serbian scriptwriter. As was case with his previous films, Kusturica worked closely with the playwright; and the script was credited to both (Iordanova 2002, p. 75). 180 Notes 181 4. Zeljko Raznjatovic (Arkan) was a criminal figure who turned into a high- profile Serbian warlord whose paramilitary units were responsible for one of the most gruesome crimes against non-Serb civilians during the conflict in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1999, the ICTY issued a warrant for his arrest and charged him with crimes against humanity. He never faced trial, as he was assassinated by a member of Belgrade’s underworld in 2000. 5. The last Yugoslav census in 1981 showed that Albanians were the fourth largest ethnic/national group. Numerically, only Serbs, Croats and (Slavic) Muslims had a larger population than the Albanians. The number of Slovenes was almost equal to the number of Albanians. The Macedonians and Montenegrins had smaller populations than the Albanians (Hodson et al. 1994). 6. The Tito-Stalin Split was a conflict between the leaders of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the USSR, which resulted in Yugoslavia’s expul- sion from the Communist Information Bureau in 1948. For further informa- tion regarding this topic see Perovic (2007). 7. In the article ‘Tito’s default’, particular segments of which I am either para- phrasing or citing here, despite his overall argument, which is in general favourable towards Tito and his historical role, Perisic does not forget to mention the crimes committed in the name of Communism in Yugoslavia. Most noticeably, Perisic underlines the execution of Ustasa and Chetnik war prisoners, the harassment and forced expulsion of the Austrian, German, Italian and Hungarian minorities immediate after the end of World War II, the persecution of Stalin’s supporters after the split between Tito and Stalin in 1948, and the harassment and persecution of political dissidents. 8 John Paul Driscoll was a documentary filmmaker based in New Orleans. He collected the material for the article I cite here while shooting an educational film about Yugoslavia. 9. The best-known filmmaker within the Black Wave movement was Dusan Makavajev. Other prominent filmmakers within the movement were Jovan Jovanovic, Lazar Stojanovic, Zivojin Pavlovic, Bata Cengic, Krsto Papic and Zelimir Zilnik. For further reading about the Yugoslav Black Wave cinema see DeCuir (2011). 10. I will pay closer attention to the genre of partisan film in Chapter 4. 11. Bulajic’s partisan film Bitka na Neretvi/Battle for Neretva (1969) was nomi- nated for an Oscar in the category for best non-English film in 1970. 12. In his semi-biographical novel Smrt je neprovjerena glasina (2010), Kusturica describes Siba (Hajrudin) Krvavac as a close family friend and person who had had a prevailing influence on his decision to become a filmmaker. 13. As a term, ‘anti-bureaucratic revolution’ refers to a series of carefully- orchestrated mass protests against the governments of the Yugoslavian republics and autonomous provinces during 1988 and 1989, which led to the resignations of the leaderships of Kosovo, Vojvodina and Montenegro and the consequent capture of power by politicians loyal to Slobodan Milosevic. For further reading see Vladisavljecic (2008). 4 Ordinary Men at War 1. For centuries, the gusle had been the most popular folk instrument in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and southern parts of 182 Notes Croatia. This musical instrument was played and appreciated by all ethnic groups living in these territories. However, all but the Serbs and Montenegrins abandoned the gusle in the late 1980s. The reason for this sudden rejection, according to Zanic (1998), lies in the fact that the gusle, due to its prominent presence in Serbian nationalistic discourse of the time, became an exclusive sig- nifier for the Serbian cultural domain. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to see, hear or read about the gusle in areas dominated by Croats or Bosnian Muslims. 2. Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic (1787–1864) is considered as one of the most impor- tant reformers of the Serbian language. He was also a passionate collector and promoter of the Serbian folk tradition. 3. The 1990s Yugoslav wars were not the first conflict to adopt ‘Rambo style insignia’. As Kellner (1995) writes, in 1985 worn-torn El Salvador, some sol- diers and officers had worn the same ‘bandanna-style headgear as the beefy, bare breasted Rambo’. 4. Amongst numerous awards, No Man’s Land won the Academy Award for the best foreign film in 2002. Ordinary People was winner of the prestigious Critics’ Week award in Cannes for 2009. In the same year, Ordinary People was the overall winner at the Sarajevo Film Festival. 5 Women Speak after the War 1. See Chapter 3 for additional notes about the Manaki brothers. 2. On average, prior to the first multi-party elections, twenty to twenty-five per cent of Yugoslav (republican) parliamentarians were women (see Djuric- Kuzmanovic et al. 2008, p. 287) 3. See Chapters 3 and 6 for further insights on the Ustase and Chetniks. 4. I mention the Tito-Stalin split in Chapter 3. 5. Both Christine A. Maier and Barbara Albert worked on Zbanic’s second feature film, On the Path (2010), which had its premiere at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival. 6. This news announcement was not subtitled in English in Grbavica’s DVD for English-speaking countries. 7. In 2008, the central Sarajevo square, facing the Bosnian National Theatre, was named after Susan Sontag. 8. For further reading on the turbo-folk music phenomena in the Western Balkans see Baker (2007). See also Kronja (2004). 9. Ilahi is a Muslim religious song which content primarily magnifies the power of God. Ilahi lyrics also offer the unconditional love for God on behalf of the performer/singer. 10. Belgrade’s International Film Festival (FEST) is an annual event, usually scheduled for the end of February. The decision to screen Grbavica at the thirty-fourth FEST in 2006 was initiated by human rights activists from Serbia, and the publicity Zbanic’s debut had gained after the award at the Berlin Film Festival. 11. The Serbian Radical Party (Srpska Radikalna Stranka) is an ultra- nationalist party which in 2006 held a significant number of seats in the Serbian Parliament. Its founder is Dr Vojislav Seselj, whose trial at the ICTY is now in progress. 12. ‘Anti-Serbian propaganda’ is not a strong enough expression for explaining the verbal attacks on Karanovic. In obscure tabloids and threatening letters Notes 183 sent to the actress she was depicted in terms ranging from the ‘Turkish whore’, to the ‘ugly woman turned lesbian because she is undesirable to men’ (see Svett 2006, no. 454; Zbanic 2006, LA Times 14 April). 13. See Chapter 4 for further insights into Pretty Village, Pretty Flame. 6 Roma: The Other in the Other 1. Even if the English-speaking readership of this book may be more familiar with the word ‘Gypsy’, I am insisting on naming these people the Roma or Romani. The reasons are numerous. First and foremost, it was the legitimate decision by the Roma elite. In April 1971 in London, during the first World Romani Congress, delegates from all over Europe adopted the term Roma to describe themselves (Fraser 1992, p. 317). Second, while the term ‘Gypsy’ has become so pervasive that some Romani associations use it in their own organisational names, this word still has pejorative connotations in English-speaking socie- ties.

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