In 1911, in the first Serbian feature film "The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karađorđe" by Čiča Ilija Stanojević, the first kiss between two men in the history of our cinema was shown. And it's neither the only nor the last one, as indicated in an interesting investigative manner by the feature-length documentary-fiction, actually, hybrid film "Warm Film" by Dragan Jovićević, which had its world premiere last night at the 26th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, as part of the "Citizen Queer" program.

Jovićević's "Warm Film," with a title that is a kind of allusion to the well-known Serbian saying "warm brother," which refers to individuals of homosexual orientation, is an investigative journey through the history of queerness in Yugoslav and Serbian cinematography from the perspective of growing nationalism and homophobia in today's society. This screenwriter and director, a longtime journalist, critic, and editor, takes two young actors – Đorđa Mišina and Đorđa Galića – on this journey. They receive an offer to act in a film with homosexual love scenes, and Jovićević puts them in a script situation of being torn between the desire to become famous and the fear of being labeled. The two Đorđas handle this situation well because acting is their job, but in the film, they reveal that the most common reaction from their surroundings was still: "What will people say?"

And precisely that question: "What will people say?" or perhaps it's better: "What did people say?" was dominant when it was revealed in 2018 that Jovićević's project received funding from the Serbian Film Center. At that time, a daily tabloid, as the film testifies, conducted a real lynching of the project in the making due to its queer theme and title, with public remarks that "the Serbian Film Center finances f*** filmography." Those who led the witch hunt at that time did not delve into the fact that the author analyzed and supported the thesis of the continuous presence of queer themes and occurrences in the works of Yugoslav and Serbian film directors with inserts from famous films. Scenes from post-war films to the present day are illustratively juxtaposed in "Warm Film." Inserts from films such as "Slavica" by Vjekoslav Afrić (1948), "Life Is Ours" and "Red Flower" by Gustav Gavrin, "Sofka" by Đorđe Novaković (scenes from the women's hammam), from "The Common Law Flat" by Marjan Vajda, "The Doors Remain Open" by František Čap (with Milena Dravić in her first film role)... There are also scenes from the works of the "Black Wave" filmmakers, such as those from "The Rats Woke Up" and "When I Am Dead and White" by Živojin Pavlović, "Plastic Jesus" by Lazar Stojanović, "Crows" by Ljubiša Kozomara and Gordan Mihić, from many works by Želimir Žilnik, up to "The Boy Who Could Be a Hero" by Miša Radivojević, "Strangler vs. Strangler" by Slobodan Šijan, "The Beauty of Sin" by Živko Nikolić, "Hello, Inspector" by Zoran Čalić, "How the War Started on My Island" by a group of authors, "Made in Serbia" and "The Life and Death of a Porno Gang" by Mladen Đorđević and "The Celts" by Milica Tomić...

Through this wealth of archival material, the acting of Đorđa Mišina and Đorđa Galića, and interviews with the recently deceased actor, screenwriter, and director Milan Jelić, a gay icon, "Almodovar before Almodovar," and the creator of the cult film "Bubašinter" (dedicated to him is "Warm Film") and numerous theorists and directors, Dragan Jovićević factually illustrates the discreet but significant presence of queer themes throughout the long decades of Yugoslav and Serbian cinematography. The film also incorporates the history of changes in the way society views this topic, which was previously, it seems, more tolerant. Perhaps, actually, quieter. From the late forties of the last century to the late eighties, the appearance of individuals of homosexual orientation in domestic films (and in reality) was viewed with silent tolerance, of course, and with ridicule, but what is heard today was not heard then.

As the author Dragan Jovićević notices, citing his actors and the "reincarnation" of some very popular film scenes and characters. For example, those from Čalić's "Hello, Inspector" with Velimir Bata Živojinović as the macho inspector and Nikola Simić as the feminized Miki and that famous line: "Give me back my hairstyle!" Jovićević's research led to an incredible collection of over 65 domestic films featuring characters whose behaviors can be classified as queer. Jovićević had great support in the realization of "Warm Film," whose creation began in 2016, from producer and editor Nataša Pavlović (as well as producer Predrag Azdejković), cinematographers Nebojša Vasić and Aleksandar Jovanović, as well as Milorad Glušica and Filip Verkić, who provided the final authorial touch in post-production.

Jovićević's hybrid documentary is interesting and enjoyable to watch on the big screen, perhaps even beyond foreign and domestic festival frameworks...

Source: "Politika" Online Edition, March 18, 2024.