Youth work actions were an inseparable part of socialist Yugoslavia. Through voluntary work, thousands of young brigadiers, both men and women, have contributed towards developing the country and the realisation of key infrastructure projects such as motorways, railways, bridges, tunnels, factories, residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and parks. One of these projects was the Šamac–Sarajevo railway, built in 1947 in a mere seven months. Young people from Yugoslavia were joined by a number of brigadiers from Italy, Great Britain, Greece, France, Denmark, Sweden, Palestine, and so on.
During the war in the nineties, the railway was damaged. The later Dayton Agreement cut it in two while its vital parts were privatised. The last train on the Šamac–Sarajevo line pulled out in 2011. Today, the rails are often used by people on their way to a better future.
Newsreel 242 – Sunny Railways Obzornik 242 – Sunčane pruge
Photos
What's On
Whispers in the Woods Le chant des forêts
Vincent Munier
Thursday, 18. 06. 2026 / 16:50 / Main Hall
Following his film The Velvet Queen, in which he searched the Tibetan highlands for the elusive big cat, nature photographer Vincent Munier now invites us on an intimate journey to his native Vosges Mountains. Together with him, we will immerse ourselves in the sounds, textures, and scents of ancient forests. The film won the César Award for Best Documentary.
Sandbag Dam Zečji nasip
Čejen Černić
Thursday, 18. 06. 2026 / 19:00 / Main Hall
A story of forbidden love in the Croatian countryside, Sandbag Dam won the Kinotrip Youth Jury Award at Ljubljana International Film Festival (Liffe), as well as four awards at the Pula Film Festival.
God Will not Help Bog neće pomoći
Hana Jušić
Thursday, 18. 06. 2026 / 21:30 / Kinodvorišče
The second feature film from Hana Jušić (Quit Staring at My Plate) is a darkly poetic neo-Western about a mysterious Chilean woman who brings unrest to a traditional Croatian shepherding community at the beginning of the 20th century. Blending elements of Wuthering Heights, Croatian folklore, and Jane Campion’s The Piano, the film earned its two leading actresses an award at Locarno.