Documentary film Kontakt by Mihajlo Obrenov

The feature-length documentary film Kontakt by Mihajlo Obrenov, which tells the story of the underground rock scene in Novi Sad and reflects on the fate of rock music in Serbia, will be screened on Wednesday, November 29 at AKC Gnezdo, starting at 8 PM.

Through a kind of time-travel narrative, Obrenov explores the many phases of this vibrant and powerful scene—from 1989 to the present day. With the help of more than 140 interviewees, the audience is introduced, in a witty and dynamic way, to the history and geography of Novi Sad’s alternative music scene—its key figures, bands, subcultural groups, past and present clubs, radio and TV shows, important concerts and festivals, fanzines, excesses, and inventive DIY techniques used by punk musicians to build instruments during times of material scarcity.

Running in the background are themes from Serbia’s political, economic, and cultural history at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, which inevitably shaped the rock scene in Novi Sad: the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, sanctions and shortages, the emigration of rock audiences, shifts in urban cultural identity, social stratification, the emergence of drugs on the streets, the NATO bombing, the shutdown of rock-friendly media, shows and venues, the atomization and passivization of the public sphere, the migration of social interaction to the internet, and the gradual decline of rock’s influence.

Mihajlo Obrenov graduated in film and theatre directing from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. During his studies, he created several notable works, including the play U malom dvorcu, the documentary Život uspavanih sećanja (2005), and the feature film Araneum (2010), which was screened at festivals both in Serbia and abroad. He is also the frontman of the industrial rock band DreDDup.

— Jovan Ristić