Heterotopia

The main issue I wanted to address in this film is a specific urban transformation which has been present in transitional societies of Balkans from the beginning of last decade of the twentieth century to the present day.

The beginning of the nineties was followed by war, economic crises, migrations and overall decline of the value system, overall chaotic state of the society resulted in institutional collapse. Most of those institutions, although still officially existing didn’t have the capacity or the idea how to face the challenges of the post socialist transitional society. As the professor Ivan Kucina stated in his essay “Balkanization as Development Strategy”:

“Balkan cities are physical witnesses of the ideologies that have gone forever and ambitions that are loudly stepping ahead”

Indeed, the lack of institutionalized authority led to self-organizing in literally every aspect of urban living - from commerce, to housing and public services. The effect this trend had on urban planning, architecture and dwelling culture was massive. Numerous stories and newspaper articles attest to the fact that this new set of building and construction rules created almost surreal situations in everyday life, raising many questions varying from basic politeness to security and private property protection issues.

The Heterotopia project aims to illustrate that relationship between cities and their inhabitants.

As this relationship is constantly being modified and reestablished in front of our eyes, most of us, preoccupied with our daily routines, lack the ability to notice these subtle changes.

The building in Kralja Petra street, which is under state protection in the area of Kosančićev venac”, got a whole new flour, and then even the swimming pool in the attic. Six years ago Zivojin Djordjevic, the owner of the winery in Subotica "World of Wine", bought a flat on the sixth floor and the attic and began renovating, "according to his taste". None of the city institutions in charge managed to stop him that although the buildings protected by the state!

As the construction site on the top of the building is unsecured and uncovered, other tenants have constant problems with the water that remains on the unfinished flours and in the pool, after the rain or snow.

For two weeks now they have been trying to fight the water that is coming through their ceilings, running down the walls, raising parquet and pouring from power sockets. In the beginning of December a water pipe on the construction site broke and made even bigger chaos on the fifth floor, forcing the tenants to move to a hotel. There have been no statements from the city officials so far...