LANDSCAPES OF RESISTANCE
A film by Marta Popivoda
2021, 95 minutes
2021, 95 minutes
No. 331
Documentary
Documentary
Description
Sonja (97) was one of the first women who joined the partisan resistance movement in Yugoslavia. Inspired by the revolutionary books she received from a classmate in high school, she joined the communist and antifascist organization in the late 1930s and in 1941 became a partisan fighter in German-occupied Serbia. Ultimately, she was captured, tortured and after several other prisons and concentration camps taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There she became a member of the resistance and a leader of its combat unit.
By listening to Sonja’s story, we travel through the landscapes of her revolutionary life as they exist today - the Serbian forests and mountains where the partisans gathered and the muddy grounds and countless chimneys of Auschwitz - towards her tiny Belgrade flat where she lives with her husband and cat.
For over 10 years, director Marta Popivoda and Sonja’s granddaughter and co-author of the film Ana Vujanović recorded their conversations with Sonja. What starts off as a celebration of the resistance of one woman and her comrades gradually turns into a cinematic antifascist manifesto as the filmmakers become more and more confronted with the rise of fascism in Europe today.
By listening to Sonja’s story, we travel through the landscapes of her revolutionary life as they exist today - the Serbian forests and mountains where the partisans gathered and the muddy grounds and countless chimneys of Auschwitz - towards her tiny Belgrade flat where she lives with her husband and cat.
For over 10 years, director Marta Popivoda and Sonja’s granddaughter and co-author of the film Ana Vujanović recorded their conversations with Sonja. What starts off as a celebration of the resistance of one woman and her comrades gradually turns into a cinematic antifascist manifesto as the filmmakers become more and more confronted with the rise of fascism in Europe today.
Festivals
International Film Festival Rotterdam, Official Selection
Cinéma du Réel, Winner, Library Award
Viennale, Official Selection
Jeonjou International Film Festival, Winner, Best Picture Prize
Cinéma du Réel, Winner, Library Award
Viennale, Official Selection
Jeonjou International Film Festival, Winner, Best Picture Prize
Reviews
“A definite stand outl”- POV Magazine
“Powerful testament to the human spirit… unsentimental but irresistibly moving”- Neil Young, Screen Daily
“What makes Landscapes of Resistance so remarkable is the way it successfully frames anti-fascist resistance as an expression of love.” - Cathy Brennan, Sight & Sound
“It is inspiring to see that this genuine communist spirit, which is open and tolerant (as opposed to its totalitarian mutations) and puts humanity before ideology or nationality, still lives.” - Vladan Petković, Cineuropa
“Powerful testament to the human spirit… unsentimental but irresistibly moving”- Neil Young, Screen Daily
“What makes Landscapes of Resistance so remarkable is the way it successfully frames anti-fascist resistance as an expression of love.” - Cathy Brennan, Sight & Sound
“It is inspiring to see that this genuine communist spirit, which is open and tolerant (as opposed to its totalitarian mutations) and puts humanity before ideology or nationality, still lives.” - Vladan Petković, Cineuropa
