In I Am Not Ashamed of My Communist Past, the Serbian theatre maker Sanja Mitrović and actor Vladimir Aleksić take on the recent history of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), a country that only still exists in our memory and our imagination.
Nonetheless, the fundamental idea of Yugoslavia – a multiethnic, multireligious and socialist state – is still relevant to today's European struggle.
It was this idea that brought childhood friends Sanja Mitrović and Vladimir Aleksić together, both of whom emigrated in 2001. Although Sanja still lives and works in Western Europe, Vladimir returned to Serbia to rebuild his life there. By using personal memories and images from Yugoslavian cinema, they not only reveal the story of Yugoslavia, but also their own. Together, they investigate whether it is possible to remain loyal to the ideas that they once believed in. What is it that unites communities that share the same country? What remains of values such as solidarity and social justice in times of materialism and individualism?
CONCEPT & PERFORMANCE Sanja Mitrović, Vladimir Aleksić
DIRECTED BY Sanja Mitrović
IN COLLABORATION WITH Vladimir Aleksić
DRAMATURGY Jorge Palinhos, Olga Dimitrijević
CHOREOGRAPHY Sanja Mitrović
SET & COSTUME DESIGN Frédérick Denis
LIGHT DESIGN & TECHNICIAN Giacomo Gorini
SOUND DESIGN Vladimir Pejković
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Siniša Mitrović
ORIGINAL VIDEO MATERIAL Vladmir Pavić, Frédérick Denis
VIDEO EDITING Nikola Vrzić, Siniša Mitrović
VIDEO & SOUND TECHNICIAN Wouter Dupont
CONSULTANT Cis Bierinickx
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Siniša Mitrović
PUBLICITY Jeroen Goffings
PRODUCERS Jelena Knežević, Tamara Pović
PRODUCTION & TOUR MANAGEMENT Liesbeth Stas
PRODUCED BY Sanja Mitrović/Stand Up Tall Productions (Amsterdam) and BITEF Theatre (Belgrade)
CO-PRODUCED BY Beursschouwburg (Brussels)
PARTNERS Pianofabriek (Brussels), Centar Film (Belgrade), Yugoslav Cinematheque (Belgrade), Avala Film (Belgrade), Film Center Serbia (Belgrade), National Theatre Toša Jovanović (Zrenjanin)
SUPPORTED BY Flemish Community, Flemish Community Commission, City of Belgrade
SPECIAL THANKS TO Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg (Brussels)
