Documentary Films

Balkan Rhapsodies: 78 Measures of War


by Jeff Daniel Silva
color, 55 min, 2008



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Using the 78 days of NATO bombings of Former Yugoslavia (March 24 - June 10, 1999) as a structural reference point, Balkan Rhapsodies explores the post-trauma of the ordinary Yugoslav citizens caught in a web between the politics of former president Slobodan Milosovic, the Albanian separatist movement, and the United States led NATO coalition.

In July 1999, just weeks after the NATO bombardment had ended American-born artist and ethnographer, Jeff Daniel Silva set out on a journey to attempt to understand the causes of an-other inexplicable war in the Balkan's and to explore the complexities of life in Serbia and Kosovo. The inauspicious circumstance of being the first American civilian allowed entry into Serbia after the US led bombings was a profound experience for him and the people he encountered. The provocative material he accumulated from the initial experience led him to return twice more to Kosovo and Serbia over the next five years.

The resulting footage is formally woven around a seventy-eight part episodic structure that is informed by rhapsodic musical compositions of the 19th century, a form that tends to feature a series of short and emotionally infused compositions with highly contrasting moods, colours and tonalities. Inspired by this musical form, Balkan Rhapsodies weaves the video material that Silva has gleaned over the years, incorporating archival footage, interviews, re-enactments & appropriations, as well as the footage from his travels to the Balkans. Balkan Rhapsodies elegantly balances a serious and humorous landscape that captures the essence of that post-traumatic historical moment in the Balkans and the precarious situation of a young generation of Serbs and Albanians ensnared in a country led by its vicious ruler Slobodan Milosovic.

The war in Kosovo may be a distant memory to the general public but the issues and residue of history are still very much in our present. Kosovo's autonomy status is still a major point of con-tention and Serbia's ultra nationalists are gaining power as the economic situation continues to stagnate amidst debates to allow it entry into the EU. Yet, Balkan Rhapsodies looks beyond the geographical and historical moment it captures, as old wounds fail to heal and new conflicts continue arise around the globe. From the ashes and residue of past traumas, shards of memories, evidence, and experiences Balkan Rhapsodies creates a melodic echo that resonates with the absurdity of the situation and reflects a political and social imperative beyond the conflicts in Former Yugoslavia into of our present day crises in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.

Official website: http://www.jeffdanielsilva.com/balkanrhapsodies.html

Film Festivals, Screenings, Awards
Göttingen International Ethnographic Film Festival, Göttingen, Germany, 2008
Best Documentary, Festival Cinemateca Uruguaya, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2008
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY - Doc Fortnights, 2008
OVNI Arxius de l'Observatori, Barcelona, Spain, 2008
DocHouse Brussels, Belgium, 2007
ForumDocBH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2007
Valdivia International Film festival, Chile, 2007
DokumentART Festival, Neubrandenburg, Germany, 2007

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