Serbian director links new coming-of-age film to recent student protests

The Thessaloniki Film Festival runs from November 5 to 15, a period that coincides with the final stage of production for '1970.' Darko Lungulov, the director behind the 2009 Tribeca winner 'Here and There,' completed filming the new picture in the Greek city. The project is a coming-of-age drama that places two teenagers against the backdrop of President Richard Nixon's visit to the former Yugoslavia during the Vietnam War.

The narrative centers on a 13-year-old boy named Draško who runs away with a 16-year-old girl named Eržika after being abandoned by their parents. The pair drift through a period defined by anti-war demonstrations, rock concerts, and social rebellion. Lungulov stated that although the story is set more than 50 years ago, it functions as a reflection on the present day. He noted that the film captures a time when young people believed they could alter their world, a sentiment he felt had been forgotten until recently.

Lungulov pointed to events in his home country of Serbia to explain the film's timeliness. A student protest movement successfully ousted longtime leader Aleksandar Vučić last month after a two-year struggle. The director observed that the possibility of young people changing the world came to life again through that political shift. His two lead actors, Andrija Femić and Lilla Gregus, were actively involved in the student movement that brought Vučić down.

The production is a five-country collaboration involving Serbia, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Croatia. Financing came from national film funds in those nations as well as the Creative Europe MEDIA program. The film will appear in the Agora Works in Progress section at Thessaloniki before moving to the Baltic Event industry showcase in Tallinn later this month. Lungulov, who studied in New York, is sharing producing duties with Snezana van Houwelingen.

Visually, the film blends documentary elements with narrative fiction. Lungulov described the use of a mix of real and fake home movies alongside newly shot 16mm and digital footage. He explained that the goal was to create the inner world of the protagonist through the atmosphere of 1970. The approach mirrors the political climate of that era, where raucous protests greeted Nixon's arrival.

Lilla Gregus, who plays Eržika, was a 22-year-old student at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad during the shoot. Novi Sad is the location of the railway station disaster in 2024 that helped spark the national protests. Lungulov joined the young actor and her classmates at one demonstration after a rehearsal. He said that this echo of the past in the present makes the story feel urgent. The director described the film as a depiction of young people searching for their voice in a hopeless world while refusing to be broken by bullying authorities.

Lungulov's previous feature was the 2023 documentary 'A Fleeting Dream,' which followed the rock band Yu Grupa. The band was formed in 1970, the same year as his new film's setting. His earlier work includes 'Monument to Michael Jackson,' which premiered at Karlovy Vary in 2014. The director believes the Serbian students brought hope back to the country and potentially to the world through their recent political victory.