A “road movie” to the past: two buses, two journeys, two final destinations, two opposing ideologies. The first bus carrying “the victors” on their way to commemorate and celebrate Tito’s birthday at his birthplace, and the second transporting the elderly and “defeated”, as well as some young idealists, to the place of the World War II massacre at Bleiburg. But to the filmmaker Goran Dević, an outsider and observer, it was much more than that: “I was struck by the dramatic and emotional “sameness” of what was going on around me.”

Year: 2009. / Format: digi Beta / Duration: 50′ / color / Orig. Title: Sretna zemlja

Goran Dević

was born in Sisak, Croatia, in 1971. He studied law, archaeology and film art at Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb, Croatia. His filmography includes several documentaries and short films. Teaches documentary film at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is the author of award-winning documentary films: On The Water (2018), The Steel Mill Café (2017), 65+ (2016), Two Furnaces for Udarnik Josip Trojko (2012), Don Juan: Excuse Me, Miss (2010), The Flood (2010), Happy Land (2009), Three (2008), I Have Nothing Nice to Say to You (2005), Imported Crows (2004) and others. Film The Blacks (2009), which he codirected, was his feature film debut also woon grand prix Ljubljana Film Festival Slovenia 2009; grand prix Festival autorskog filma Serbia 2009; FIPRESCI award Cottbus Film Festival Germany 2009; special award for directing Cottbus Film Festival Germany 2009; Golden Arena for directing Pula Film Festival Croatia 2009;

Retrospectives of his documentaries were screened at Arsenal Berlin, Crossing Europe Filmfestival Linz.