Monument ( 2015, 50')
experimental documentary
During the 1990s, Croatia suffered systematic violation and destruction of its anti-fascist monuments. By combining the images of these impressive works of abstract sculpture with the potent nature surrounding them, Monument creates a visual metaphor to reflect on their purpose nowadays.
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Directed and produced: Igor Grubić
Cinematographer: Josip Ivančić
Edited by: Marko Ferković
Sound mix: Vjeran Šalamon
Executive producer: Sandra Grubić
Music: Akira Rabelais, Benny Jonas Nilsen, Clinton Francis 'Isol', Jim O'Rourke, Tyler Friedman, Voice Crack
“Monument” is a poetic-experimental documentary, structured as a series of nine meditative ‘portraits’ of the massive concrete memorials commissioned by the former Yugoslav state. These sentinel forms were originally built to honour the Second World War victims of fascism.
During the Balkans war of the 1990s thousands of these monuments, perceived only as monoliths of abandoned Communist ideology, were destroyed on the territory of ex- Yugoslav state. The attempt to erase these structures was the starting point for this film, which focuses on the conditions and 'life' of a group of monuments.
Emphasizing the unexpected fragility of these monumental structures, the director places human attempts to fix meaning against a backdrop of seasonal change. In a landscape that has witnessed cycles of trauma and upheaval, this film mirrors the rise and fall of many monuments built to preserve the memory of events that might otherwise be forgotten.
As a poetic-experimental documentary, “Monument” creates an existential, or even spiritual, resonance with the political issues, questioning the purpose of monuments today.
Co-funded by: Croatian audiovisual centre, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Zagreb city office for culture, education and sport
