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Screening The Balkans: Dina Iordanovas Cinema of Flames

Dina Iordanova. Cinema of Flames Balkan Film, Culure and The !edia

BFI "u#lishing $%%&. ISB' %()&*%(+*&

Does he dicum never udge a #ook #- is cover sill hold rue o in an age of oal design hen

/u#lishers o#sess over he smalles deails of visual /resenaion0 The cover of Cinema of

Flames could no #e more lieral or unsu#le 1 a dramaic scene from ha Iordanova udges o

have #een one of he ke- Balkan films of he las decade 1 Srdan Dragoevi23s Lepa sela, lepo gore

(Pretty Village, Pretty Flame). In he sill a Chenik e4ulanl- aves a #urning flag in fron of a

ruined #uilding. The cover rades on our fascinaion ih he Balkan violence of he nineies and

he /o/ulari- of cinemaic re/resenaions such as Dragoevi23s. In his sense, he #ook does

ha i sa-s on he /acke, anal-sing he im/ac and success of such films. 5oever alhough

/u#lished #- he BFI and markeed /rimaril- as a film #ook is sco/e is far ider 1 #eing a#ou

Balkan culure and media in he ides sense and /erha/s mos significanl-, a#ou e4ernal

images of he Balkans.

In he las decade #oh ficional and documenar- visual re/resenaions of he Balkans have

#ecome an inegral com/onen of he 6esern mediasca/e and one of he ke- concerns of his

#ook is o e4amine he im/licaions of he circulaion and re7circulaion of such imageries. The

Balkans have never e4/erienced greaer media e4/osure #u hile he former o#scuri- is a hing

of he /as, he high visi#ili- of he region is linked o he negaive facors ha arac he6esern ga8e 1 ar, violence, /over- ec. The Balkans have achieved visi#il- #ecause he- have

#een in extremis and reading his #ook is hard no o dra he conclusion ha he nel-

inensified 6esern ineres in he region is #ased on our fascinaion ih he s/ecacular and he

caasro/hic. 6hile i ma- #e a ruism is orh noing ha mos Balkan inha#ians ould /refer

/eaceful o#scuri- o a high media /rofile com/osed almos enirel- of images of crisis and

des/air. 9s in ar, so in /eace 1 even #efore he crises of he las decade hose as/ecs of self7

/roduced Balkan or asern uro/ean culure ha did end o /enerae 6esern screening ere

he mos s/ecacular 1 hose ha markea#le as e4am/les of he 4reme as ;he ile of a

Channel + documenar- series on as uro/ean su#culure from he earl- nineies

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The "oliics of >e/resenaion

The auhor is skilled a deconsrucing markeing echni?ues and he aracion oards as/ecs of

Balkan reali- ha can #e sold as se4- and e4oic, no us in film and /o/ular culure, #u even;or /erha/s es/eciall-< in nes coverage. There are numerous cases of academics and ournaliss

hose Balkan focus daes /recisel- from he adven of ar in =ugoslavia and hose ork in

/racice does no e4end far #e-ond ;e4< =ugoslav sae froniers. This is no o go as far as for

insance Se/an !e@rovi2 ho re/resens 6esern media aenion almos e4clusivel- in erms of

vo-eurism and a /osmodern morali- crisis #u as Iordanova shos here is a ver- mi4ed range of

agendas and moives under/inning he 6ess screening of he region. These issues surface

srongl- in her cha/er on Aisions of Saraevo in hich she e4amines he #ehaviour and agendas

of he nes and film cres ho descended on he ci- during and afer he siege. 6hils man- had

a genuine concern for he ci-, he- sill someimes /la-ed a /ar in /er/euaing desrucive

clichs and ere someimes seen as arrogan #- he local /o/ulaion. Iordanova e4/oses o facs

ha challenge he foreign medias fre?uenl- self7congraulaor- coverage.

Saraevan documenar- and feaure7makers coninued heir ork hroughou, making arduous

and /ersisen effors a documening and re/resening heir on siuaion. 5oever hils man-

of heir images have eno-ed high inernaional e4/osure his has onl- #een afer screening #-

6esern media and film7makers. Iordanova claims ha such images ere seen as /oenial

/ro/aganda sim/l- #ecause of heir origin, hoever once edied and incor/oraed ino 6esern/roducions ;fre?uenl- ihou credi< he- miraculousl- los heir /ro/agandis saus and ere

admied ino he a//roved saus of re/orage. This siuaion arose #ecause he domesic

/roducions ere reeced as unsuia#le #- inernaional neorks and he local /roducers ere

forced o allo heir fooage o #e used #- ohers if an- of i as ever o #e seen #- a glo#al

audience. Iordanova noes he difficulies she as a researcher had in o#aining co/ies of Bosnian

/roducions and noes ha none of he films made #- Saraevans as ever seen #e-ond he

fesival circui. ;$+*

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/roducion #eing dis/laced #- a larger #udge film in nglish and ai23s ork cerainl- deserved

ider e4/osure han i received.

9longside he denial of agenc- and he sidelining of local /roducions runs an even less

defensi#le endenc-, hich Iordanova characerises as a dou#le vicimi8aion #- he media ofhe vicims of ar. 6hils inmaes of cam/s and refuges are rarel- individualised ;and heir on

re/resenaions of heir /ligh are screened for /ro/aganda< /er/eraors of violence such as

9rkan received e4ensive coverage ha almos #ordered on lifes-le ournalism 1 he deails of his

house, clohes, cars ec. 6ha Iordanova doesn /oin ou is ha glamourised criminals and heir

lifes-les are a sa/le of he 6esern media. There is a leas some /arallel #eeen he fascinaion

ih he glamour of he Gra- Tins and he ineres in 9rkan and oher Balkan gangsers. Fe

6esern commenaors are holl- immune o he a//alling fascinaion of he s/ecacular

vulgari- and decadence of he Balkan 5ardcore media culure and /erha/s his is relaed o

ha e are e4/osed o ihin our on culures. Is here such a hin line #eeen his fascinaion

and he simulaneous dominance of he fau47ironic so #ad is good school of Briish TA hich

no means ha even he mos /iiful as/ecs of nineeen sevenies fashion, music and TA are no

cele#raed0 9rkan migh no feaure on he inevia#le I ove he 'ineies /rogrammes of he

ne4 decades #u Gusuricas Hnderground ma- ell do.

Hnderground

f he numerous films discussed #- Iordanova, onl- Hnderground has an enire cha/erdedicaed o i. iven is huge im/ac ;i on he &EE) "alme dr a Cannes< and he /oliical

conroversies surrounding i his does no seem dis/ro/orionae. Iordanova vies i as a

s-m/omaic moral case orh discussing #e-ond he narro sco/e of he Balkan conflic. ;&&$a#elais, and Bosch as ell as illiam, Fellini and 6ada. She noes ha he final scene in

hich he edding /ar- fails o noice he ground i sands on drifing aa- on he river as seen

#- Gusurica and screenrier Du@an Govacevi2 as a defining mea/hor of =ugoslavia ;&&+eading her descri/ion of mediaed indocrinaion and he consrucion

of /aranoia and insecuri- in an audience /u me in mind of he e4reme uro7/ho#ic discourse inhe nglish /o/ulis media 1 he same mechanisms of demonisaion and he search for

cons/iracies are /resen in #oh cases. Iordanova shos ho marginalisaion of he -/e

e4/erienced in he Balkans can inensif- aggression, es/eciall- since i has long #een realised ha

non7violence can ofen e?uae o non7coverage and media invisi#ili-. She characerises his

aiude as one of hen e #ehave, no one cares. 6haever e ill ala-s #e ke/ in he

#ack-ard. 6h-, hen, no #ecome he #ad gu-s as no one akes us ino consideraion an-a-0

;&JE

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hem o ?uesion he #ases of heir ineres< or in media coverage of he Balkans, #u also for

an-one ih an ineres in he effec of film and media on /oliics.

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