Intercultural cinema: El Shatt – A Blueprint for Utopia

In the contemporary context of residents migrating from Africa and Asia into Europe, whether due to economic poverty or confilcts and persecution in their home countries, „A Blueprint for Utopia“ by director Ivan Ramljak servers as a reminder and a warning to us that global political situations can change and that we, in countries that are considered stable, can easily find ourselves on the opposite side – looking for security and sanctuary in other places. This was the case in World War II and during the Croatian War of Independence. This film is an important reminder that being a refugee is never „pretty“, but an experience of constant survival, adapting to new, foreign and challenging conditions and dealing with extreme uncertainty of returning, or even remaining. „A Blueprint for Utopia“ is a reminder to all: any one of us can become a refugee.

After the screening, there will be a discussion with the director and guests. Free tickets for the film are available here, or by phone/message via this number: +385 95 535 44 79

Description:
"Hundreds of frostbitten and starving people are drifting on boats in the middle of the Mediterranean, fleeing from war. Scenes we have become accustomed to seeing recently… But the year is 1944 and the refugees are fleeing in the opposite direction: from Europe to Africa. After the capitulation of Fascist Italy, and before the arrival of the German army, Tito, with the help of the Allies, decided to evacuate 28,000 residents of Dalmatia to Egypt, where they then lived under tents in the middle of the desert for two years. The refugees took the opportunity to build a kind of communist model settlement that was meant to show the West what the new Yugoslavia would look like when the war ended. This is their story."

Before and after the film attendees will be able to view the exhibition of works by students of the Zagreb School for Applied Arts and Design, made during an Iranian embroidery workshop, lead by Tayebeh Ebrahim.