25 — 29.05

Mila Turajlić Belgrade

Non-Aligned Newsreels: Fragments from the Debris

lecture performance

Beursschouwburg

Accessible for wheelchair users with assistance | English → FR, NL | ⧖ 1h | €16 / €13

Thirty years after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, long-forgotten archives resurface, revealing the lost legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement. Founded in Belgrade in 1961 at a conference of 25 nations and 17 liberation movements, this initiative, spearheaded by Yugoslav President Tito, offered an alternative to the Cold War’s superpower blocs. It championed decolonisation, disarmament, and anti-racism, yet remains absent from Western history.

Documentary filmmaker Mila Turajlić unearthed material from the Yugoslav Newsreels agency in collaboration with Tito’s cameraman, Stevan Labudović, who was sent on clandestine missions to film liberation movements. His unpublished footage, layered with oral histories and personal archives, forms the basis of this live documentary performance. Through VJ-ing and improvisation, the evolving mise-en-récit transforms archival research into an act of collective reflection. Each performance is assembled of fragments, inviting the audience to engage with the challenges of working with orphaned archives and reactivating their political potential. On this journey through fragmentary narratives and forgotten struggles, Turajlić sparks curiosity, opening space to reimagine the unfulfilled dreams of a decolonised world and their relevance today.

25.05

  • 21:00
  • + aftertalk

26.05

  • 21:00

27.05

  • 21:00

28.05

  • 21:00

29.05

  • 21:00

Presentation: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Beursschouwburg
Text, direction and performance: Mila Turajlić | Artistic direction: Barbara Matijević
Production: Théâtre National de Bretagne
Performances in Brussels with the support of the French Embassy in Belgium and the Institut français Paris as part of IF Incontournable

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