Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels
Official competition                   

Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels

Mila Turajlić

Based on a collection of unpublished materials and the diaries of the cameraman who filmed them, the film reveals the background of a political dream. Non-Aligned is a documentary (part of a diptych) that takes us on an archival journey through the birth of the Third World project, based on never-before-seen 35mm footage shot by Stevan Labudović, the cameraman of Yugoslav President Tito.
Non-Aligned brings to life the birth of the Non-Aligned movement, examining how a global project of political emancipation was shaped through the cinematic image.

 

«The diptych Non-Aligned & Ciné-Guérillas: Scenes from the Labudović Archive is both a documentary based on archive footage tracing the highlights of the birth of a movement fighting for a more just and equitable world order, and the story “behind the images” told by the man who filmed them: Stevan Labudović.
A cameraman for the Yugoslav Film News Service, Labudović followed President Tito for more than a quarter of the 20th century. A privileged perspective from which to film history.
At a time when the world was divided into Cold War blocs, Yugoslav filmmakers and reporters enjoyed a unique intermediate position. Their solidarity with anti-imperialist and socialist struggles gave them privileged access to countries closed to the foreign press. As a result, the Yugoslav News Archive in Belgrade now houses a unique and largely unexplored collection, from which” we have drawn the foundation stone of this film. Stevan’s famous images of Algeria are the highlight. The Algerian War of Independence was a decisive moment in the struggle for decolonisation and Stevan went far beyond the job of cameraman by joining the FLN (National Liberation Front) until freedom was won. I travelled with this discreet and modest man in Algeria and was amazed to discover that his legacy is still alive. It was a precious opportunity to rediscover the events of 50 years ago through the person who filmed them.»

— Mila Turajlić

Information

Country

Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Qatar

Year

2022

Length

100'

Category

Documentary

Origin of archival materials

Filmske Novosti, Radio Televizija Srbije, Radio Beograd, United Nations Audiovisual Library, INA - Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, NBC News

Screenplay

Mila Turajlić

Editing

Sylvie Gadmer, Mila Turajlić, Céline Ducreux

Production

Carine Chichkowsky, Mila Turajlić

Music

Jonathan Morali

Director’s biography

Mila Turajlić is a director born in Belgrade. Her films have been screened at numerous festivals and released theatrically in Europe and North America. In her work with archives, Mila addresses issues of representations of history at the intersection of personal memories and political narratives, seeking to reactivate forgotten histories. Her artistic practice ranges from video installations commissioned by MoMA to live documentary performances. In 2020 she joins the documentary branch of AMPAS (Oscars)