5. april – 14. jun

Though it is justly associated with political restrictions on creativity and meager resources, the Cold War era in the former Eastern Bloc nevertheless saw film and video makers creating independent and experimental work on their own terms. This series focuses on films that defied the established traditions of both narrative and documentary cinema and were produced outside large state-run studios. Borrowed from archival collections across the region—including Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, as well as U.S. and Western European archives and the personal archives of several filmmakers—the films offer fresh insights into the artistic explorations of time-based media undertaken by artists and amateurs, as well as by professional filmmakers in the region. Seen today, these titles seem as potent as any work produced contemporaneously in the Cold War West. With special thanks to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, and the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia.

Innocence Unprotected April 5 at 2:00

Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania April 5 at 4:30

Documentaries with a Human Face (Part I) April 26 at 2:30

Documentaries with a Human Face (Part II): 235 000 000 April 26 at 4:00

Balázs Béla Studio (Budapest) May 3 at 3:30

City Scene / Country Scene May 10 at 1:00

Experimental Film in Croatia and Serbia May 24 at 4:00

Artists, Collectives, Communities June 7 at 1:30

Home Movies and Found Footage June 8 at 2:00

Medium Experiments: From Film to Video June 14 at 4:00

For more information please visit National Gallary of Art