LFF: Death of a Man in the Balkans (Smrt čoveka na Balkanu)

Shot in only nine takes, this sharp and inventive black comedy consistently transcends its formal constraints. A lonely composer commits suicide in his apartment in Belgrade. Alarmed by the gunshots, Aca and his neighbour Vesko arrive but decide to wait for the police. Soon other characters appear – an undertaker, paramedics and, eventually, the police, who have been stuck in traffic.

The whole film is presented via a webcam set up by the composer before his death, with the characters entering the ‘set’ through a single entrance. Unaware of the camera catching their unguarded behaviour, the men struggle to remember the composer’s name and admire his décor, wives come and go while the representatives of officialdom exhibit a blind indifference. Inspired by his own experience—a neighbour was found dead—director Miroslav Momcilovic has produced a compelling commentary on an absurd reality.