Non-Aligned Newsreels

With the collapse of Yugoslavia, the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement also fell into oblivion. This international alliance was founded in 1961 in Belgrade at a conference attended by 25 nations and 17 liberation movements, including representatives from India, Indonesia, Egypt and Algeria. It saw itself as an alternative to the power blocs of the Cold War, fought for decolonization, disarmament and anti-racism – and yet remains largely unmentioned in Western historiography.

Serbian artist and documentary filmmaker Mila Turajlić spent 10 years combing through the archives of Yugoslav newsreels – together with Stevan Labudović, Tito's long-time cameraman. The footage documents Tito's travels to Africa and Asia in search of new strategic alliances in an era of political upheaval and global reorientation.

Turajlić's documentary live performance is a haunting search for traces in the visual memory of the global south. It becomes an examination of the power of images and their political significance – and opens up decolonial perspectives on a world in transition.By combining historic film footage with eyewitness accounts, audio recordings and private archives, Turajlić gives a new voice to the political utopias and unfulfilled dreams of that era and raises the question of how memories can provide new impetus for international understanding.

The video shows excerpts from the film material that is part of the documentary performance.