Novi Bioskop Zvezda is a

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

cinema in Belgrade, Serbia. Built in 1911, it is the oldest cinema in the city. After a period of dereliction, it was occupied in 2014 by the Movement for the Occupation of Cinemas. The squatters received international support and a documentary was released in 2018 about the occupation.

History

The cinema opened as the Koloseum, with an Art Nouveau frontage. Built in 1911, it is the oldest in Belgrade. Under the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

it was renamed as the Star ( Serbian: Zvezda). Zvezda was owned by the state-run company Beograd Film but was sold off to derivatives trader Nikola Djivanovic in 2007. He flipped it to an equity investor, Lantern International, and the cinema was closed down. Although the terms of the contract had specified that the cinema should stay open, this clause was ignored. In 2012, Djivanovic was convicted to two years in prison on various charges. After years of dereliction, the cinema was

by 200 people under the banner of the Movement for the Occupation of Cinemas in 2014. It was renamed Novi Bioskop Zvezda (New Star Cinema). The activists included

Dobrica Veselinović Dobrica Veselinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Добрица Веселиновић, born 27 July 1981) is a Serbian activist and politician. He is a member of the Minor Council which represents the left-wing Do not let Belgrade drown movement. Early ...

and film director Luka Bursac, the occupation quickly received media coverage worldwide. It was supported by

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...

, who made a short film dedicated to the project and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, who visited the space when he was in Belgrade. Djivanovic spoke with the squatters and commented "I feel great pity for them ..Imagine being an artist in Serbia. You might as well commit suicide immediately." Other supporters were philosophers

Srećko Horvat Srećko Horvat (born 28 February 1983) is a Croatian philosopher, author and political activist. The German weekly ''Der Freitag'' called him "one of the most exciting voices of his generation" and he has been described as a "fiery voice of dissen ...

and

Alain Badiou Alain Badiou (; ; born 17 January 1937) is a French philosopher, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Fouca ...

. The first film screened by the occupiers was '' Innocence Unprotected'' by

Dušan Makavejev Dušan Makavejev ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Макавејев, ; 13 October 1932 – 25 January 2019) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s—many of wh ...

In popular culture

In 2018, Senka Domanović released a documentary entitled ''Occupied Cinema'' about the occupation. It premiered at the South East European Film Festival.

History

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading