In 1972, Congolese – Belgian popstar Jack Roskam moves to Yugoslavia, where he meets and marries his Croatian wife. He becomes the guitarist of one of the most popular local rock bands, Galija. Tall, black and adorned with dreadlocks, Jack stands out on stage amongst his mostly Serbian colleagues.
Being a convinced pacifist, Jack had escaped service in the Belgian army, but at the time of the outbreak of the Yugoslavian war his convictions are tested. As Galija’s songs become more Serb orientated, Jack decides to leave the band. While Yugoslavian people are forced to choose sides, Jack faces the dilemma to either return to Belgium or to stay but what will be the fate of his new country and family and friends. The war will force him to exchange his Fender Stratocaster for a Kalashnikov and to fight in the Croatian army.
In this road movie, Jack and the Bosnian filmmaker travel through former Yugoslavia, reflecting on the choices they both made in the war.
Crew
Director & screenwriter: Sergej Kreso
Producer: Volya Films
Co-producer: Serendipity Films | IKON
Director of photography: Wiro Felix
Editor: Srdjan Fink
Sound engineer: Slobodan Bajic
Sound designer: Hans Tourné
Composer: Jack Roskam
Length
60 minutes
Year
2008
Genre
Documentary
Partners
Dutch Cultural Broadcasting Foundation | CoBO | Flanders Audiovisual Fund | Flanders Image | Thuiskopie Fund | Eurodoc
Festivals
IDFA 2008 | Bergamo Film Meeting 2009 | LOW Art Festival Budapest 2009 | MIPDOC 2009 | BelDocs Belgrado 2009 | DOKMA 2009 | Gdansk DocFilm 2009 | Netherlands Film Festival 2009