Shorts II

The films “Exit Through the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “In Retrospect” , and Songs About War are linked by themes of urban memory and the cyclical nature of history. The directors direct the viewer’s gaze to Germany, Serbia, and Ukraine and show how collective experiences, traumas, and ideological movements emerge today in new forms: graffiti, racist attacks, and songs.

Since 2023, around 250 graffiti tags reading “When the [Serbian] army returns to Kosovo…” have appeared across Serbia, reinforcing nationalist discourse. Human rights activists claim that this is a form of hybrid warfare that would not be possible without the approval of the authorities. In the 2025 German elections, the conservative, nationalist CDU/CSU alliance won, while the far-right neo-Nazi party Alternative for Germany received significant support in eastern Germany and came in second in the elections. The Ukrainian city of Mariupol today is unrecognizable and has been occupied by Russia for three years. Russification is actively taking place in the occupied city: special lessons have been introduced in schools to spread propaganda about how Russia liberated Ukrainian regions from the Nazis in 2022. Despite the danger, Ukrainians are carrying out a secret resistance and painting the city walls blue and yellow at night. In light of these realities, the directors use cinema as a form of activism, calling on people to remain vigilant and actively take personal responsibility. With anti-state and pro-Russian forces growing stronger in Lithuania, it is important to notice the signs, not normalize them, and resist.

In Retrospect
Rückblickend betrachtet

Immigrant workers build a shopping mall for the upcoming 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. In 2016, nine people with migrant backgrounds are killed in a racist attack at the same mall. A woman the film Addressee Unknown (1983) asks: “Why such hatred?”. By interweaving three periods of history, In Retrospect powerfully reveals the forces of hatred at work.

Daniel Asadi Faezi, Mila Zhluktenko 

Mila Zhluktenko, born in Kyiv, Ukraine. Studied in the Documentary Department at the University of Television and Film, Munich. Her films have been screened at numerous film festivals including IDFA, Visions du Réel, Camerimage and MoMA. Daniel Asadi Faezi, born in Germany, studied in the Documentary Department at University of Television and Film, Munich and National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan. Besides directing he produces documentary and experimental cinema. Filmmakers in their work explore Ukrainian history, racism and hybrid forms of cinema. The duo has already co-directed Aralkum, which won Best Short Film at Visions du Réel, and Waking Up in Silence, which won the Special Prize of the International Jury for Best Short Film in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlinale.

Exit Through the Cuckoo’s Nest

In the 1990s, the Balkans were torn apart by military conflicts. Against this backdrop, a generation of skaters, punks, and pacifists grew up. Combining archival home movies, excerpts of concert and leisure footage, and anonymous surveillance camera recordings, Nikola Ilić recounts his experience as a pacifist during military mobilization. Simultaneously, the director captures signs of growing nationalist ideas in Serbia over the past few years.

Nikola Ilić 

Nikola Ilić was born in 1977 in Belgrade, Serbia. An independent filmmaker and cinematographer, he is interested in the blend of the personal and the anonymous in creative and observational documentary filmmaking. Since 2007 filmmaker lives, studies and works between Switzerland and Serbia. His short films have been shown and awarded at numerous international festivals around the globe.

War Songs

Пісні про війну

War Songs is a documentary musical which tells the story of war and pacifism through songs and melodies recorded in Mariupol from the end of 20th century to the beginning of 2022, when the city was erased and captured by Russia.

Sashko Protyah

Sashko Protyah is a film director and activist from Mariupol, Ukraine. He is a co-founder of Freefilmers, a collective of artists and filmmakers. In his films, he works with topics of memory, otherness, and alienation. His films have been screened at different events and venues, including Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Hungry Eyes festival, EVA International, Gwangju Biennale.