The night Belgrade was on fire: a traumatic story about a family in the clutches of mass political protests in Serbia.
It is the year 2008. Kosovo declares independence and Serbian government announces mass protests. Luka, a troubled teenager on the verge of adulthood, lives in Mladenovac, a ruined ex-industrial town on the brinks of Belgrade, where, with his best friend Flash, he is a leader of local football club fans. During an unannounced visit by the social worker, Luka is faced with a family secret that his father, who was believed to have disappeared in Kosovo conflicts, is in fact alive and asking for him. When Luka loses his temper and breaks the leg of the local club’s top player, he is under pursuit from people seeking revenge.
»One event left a significant mark in my memory. That night Belgrade burned. The streets were flooded with broken glass. Young people were destroying and burning... Young people that may have visited Belgrade for the first time. Rage and violence triumphed that night. Anarchy caused by a dissatisfaction brewing for years exploded... My wish was to return to this night and make a film about yet another generation lost in the dust of Serbia's transition.« (Ivan Ikić)
Ivan Ikić
Born in 1982 in Belgrade, Ikić graduated in film and TV directing from the Faculty of Drama Arts in Belgrade as best student in his generation. He has directed several commercials as well as short fiction and documentary films. Barbarians is his first fiction feature.