A projectionist and his mom flee NATO bombs to save cinema itself. No, really.
Middle-aged cinephile and film projectionist Pera still lives with his mother - and best friend - Mara, in Belgrade. It's 1999 and when NATO bombs start raining down on Serbia, the two of them become refugees. After a surreal journey, they end up in New York, where Pera realizes that he can no longer do the old job he loved so much. While he and Mara were struggling to survive, the new age of digital projection was born. Then Pera stumbles upon some discarded projectors and his new mission in life becomes clear: he will travel around and show people the magic of Real Cinema - the magic that can only be created by celluoid, mechanical projectors, the silver screen and flickering light.
Acting
Banjac and Diklić's lived-in mother-son chemistry feels decades deep.
Direction
Mrdaković turns projector mechanics into genuine visual poetry.
Director
Momčilo Mrdaković
Bogdan Diklić
Pera
Mira Banjac
Mara
Anita Mančić
Lela
Branko Vidaković
Žika
Sergej Trifunović
Policajac
Dragan Bjelogrlić
Vojnik na granici
Goran Radaković
Staklorezac Sima
Sydnie Dawson
Žika's kid
Vlastimir Velisavljević
Penzioner / Tajni agent
Miloš Samolov
Mika
Milan Marić
Dečak vojnik
Nada Macanković
Mlada Mara Ilić
Andrew Sellon
Dorian
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia remains politically divisive; the film treats it as personal rupture rather than polemic, which caused mixed reception at home.
Director Mrdaković was himself a projectionist before filmmaking; the discarded projectors Pera finds were genuine decommissioned units from closing Balkan theaters.
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