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
Sound of Falling In die Sonne schauen
Mascha Schilinski
Monday, 06. 07. 2026 / 19:30 / Main Hall
The lives of four girls from different historical periods inhabiting the same farmstead in northeast Germany are subtly interconnected. Cannes 2025 Jury Prize.
Third World Treći svijet
Arsen Oremović
Monday, 06. 07. 2026 / 20:00 / Small Hall
Third World is more than just a documentary about Haustor, the legendary Zagreb band that left its mark on the former Yugoslavia’s music scene. It is the story of two creative opposites: Darko Rundek and Srđan Sacher. Through candid conversations, a studio reunion, and a wealth of archival material, the film reveals how the two artists’ sensitivity to the magic of everyday life once united their creative worlds – creating a third.
Sandbag Dam Zečji nasip
Čejen Černić
Tuesday, 07. 07. 2026 / 18:30 / 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.