The Other Side of Everything 2017
Distributed by Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Carine Chichkowksy & Mila Turajlic
Directed by Mila Turajlic
DVD, color, 104 min.
High School - General Adult
History
Date Entered: 08/02/2018
Reviewed by Barb Kundanis, Longmont Public Library, Longmont, COIn this documentary, Mila Turajlic tells the story of her activist mother Professor Srbijanka Turajlic and the changes that the city of Belgrade has gone through during her life. The Other Side of Everything often watches history pass by their apartment window over the years. The film offers an intimate view into this part of the world and a symbolic locked door that is opened by the end.
Beautifully photographed inside the apartment and including news footage, this film gives perspective on living in a country in political upheaval (lines for food, Milosevic in power). Her mother was part of the organization OTPOR and was later fired from the university.
The film deals with ownership: of the country, of the apartment and of national identity (Yugoslavian or Serbian). Mila and Srbijanka converse throughout about the past and we see Belgrade through their eyes. Srbijanka encourages Mila to activism but we see the price it has cost her. Mila chooses instead to highlight her mother's fight via filmmaking.
Awards
- IDFA Award for Best Feature Length Documentary, 2017