Lost Country is a film directed by Vladimir Perišić that delves into a deeply personal history. The movie premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week and will be shown at the Sarajevo Film Festival on August 12th. It tells the story of a Serbian teenager named Stefan who becomes entangled in the mass student protests against Serbian President Slobodan Milošević’s authoritarian regime.
These protests, which began in Belgrade in 1996 and spread throughout the country, were a response to electoral fraud. Despite losing several key cities in the 1996 local elections, Milošević’s Socialist Party of Serbia refused to accept the results, similar to Donald Trump’s behavior in the United States. The protests lasted more than three months, making them the longest student protests in European history. Perišić, who was 19 years old at the time, participated in the protests and was captivated by the carnival-like atmosphere and the desire to invert power relations in society. He describes it as a triggering moment of inner revolution for himself and many others.
In Lost Country, 15-year-old Stefan, played by newcomer Jovan Ginic, finds himself torn between the chaos in the streets and his loyalty to his family, who staunchly support Milošević. Stefan’s mother, Marklena, serves as the regime’s spokesperson, appearing on television to spread government propaganda. Stefan overhears her planning a violent crackdown on the protests. This conflict mirrors Perišić’s own experience growing up in a political household, where he felt torn between his loyalty to his parents and his own moral compass. Serbian nationalism, according to Perišić, is based on the idea of familial belonging and is the foundation of right-wing politics. Lost Country aims to subvert this ideology.
To find the perfect actor for the role of Stefan, Perišić searched throughout Serbia, meeting nearly 2,000 kids. This exhaustive search led him to Belgrade’s Red Star water polo club, where he spotted Jovan Ginic. Impressed by his demeanor and presence, Perišić immediately knew he had found his protagonist. Over the course of nine months, the director rehearsed with Ginic, not in the traditional sense of reading lines from the script, but by engaging in conversations and capturing those moments on film. This documentary-like approach extended to the entire production, including the locations and set design. Perišić couldn’t afford historical costumes or elaborate sets, so he filmed in Belgrade streets and apartments that had remained unchanged since the late 1990s.
Related Post
One notable casting choice in Lost Country is Jasna Durićić, a seasoned Serbian actress known for her role in Jasmila Zbanic’s Oscar-nominated film, Quo Vadis, Aida? Durićić plays Marklena, Stefan’s mother and the regime’s spokesperson. Perišić wanted to convey the constant act her character puts on, even in private moments with her family. The director describes the scene where Marklena lies to Stefan about election theft and then falls to her knees as a moment of improvisation by Durićić. It felt like capturing a real moment, a documentary-like experience amidst fiction.
Watching Lost Country in 2023 is an unsettling experience due to the rise of far-right nationalism in Europe. The film, set in the 1990s, echoes present-day threats to democracy from leaders such as Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, and the surge of right-wing movements across the continent. In ex-Yugoslavia during the 1990s, Perišić witnessed the resurgence of historical fascism. He left Belgrade for France, appreciating the strong opposition to far-right ideologies in France at that time. However, over the years, these ideas have become more mainstream, serving as a warning that they can quickly and fiercely resurface.
Lost Country, with its personal and historical context, exemplifies the power of cinema to capture moments of societal upheaval and raise awareness about the fragility of democracy. It serves as a reminder that the struggle between loyalty and moral duty persists and that vigilance is required to prevent the resurgence of extremist ideologies.
