The documentary film Bastards of Utopia, based on 18 months of filming, follows the fieldwork of anthropologist Maple Razsa with anarchist-punks in Zagreb, Croatia. The film focuses on three leading activists who organize political protests against capitalism and nationalism throughout the former Yugoslavia. The three belong to the ‘Black Bloc,’ the faction of the anarchist community responsible for the most confrontational episodes at ‘anti-globalization’ protests. They document how—for these three activists—their participation in radical protest is only part of a continuum of political action manifest in their everyday lives: not-for-profit cultural production, do-it-yourself media and post-consumption lifestyles.
Maple Razsa
Maple Razsa is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker. He teaches on human rights, social movements, political documentary, and postsocialism at Colby College. He has shot and directed films in Slovenia, Croatia, Mozambique and the U.S.
Pacho Velez
Pacho Velez’s recent feature, The American Sector (2020, co-directed with Courtney Stephens), premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. His previous features, Manakamana (2013, co-directed with Stephanie Spray) and The Reagan Show (2017, co-directed with Sierra Pettengill), have played around the world, including at the New York Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and on CNN. In 2010, Pacho received his MFA from CalArts. In 2015, he was awarded a Princeton Arts Fellowship. At present, he is Assistant Professor of Screen Studies at The New School in New York City.
General sponsor
Bastards of Utopia
USA, Croatia
2010, 62', color, video
Directed by:
Maple Razsa, Pacho Velez
Screenplay by:
Maple Razsa
Cinematography:
Maple Razsa, Pacho Velez
Edited by:
Maple Razsa, Pacho Velez
Music:
Azra
Producer:
Maple Razsa
Produced by:
EnMasseFilms, Film Study Center, Harvard University
