Twenty years ago, the Socialist state of Yugoslavia began to dissolve, along with its world-famous film industry and oppressive media censorship. The (Post) Yugoslav Film Festival (31 May–1 June), hosted by the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the UCL European Institute, celebrated Balkan film-makers, many of whom left their respective countries for several years, and have now returned to produce some of the most refreshing films in world cinema today.

No region of the world, in my opinion, produces films that are simultaneously so intimate, funny and emotionally draining as the Balkans. The four films shown at the (Post) Yugoslav Film Festival were no exception. But this blog post isn’t about how great the films were. What made this two-day event so unique was the attendance of the directors, who could illuminate the difficulties (and joys) of producing films across the borders of countries that two decades ago were at war with each other.

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