Cinema Metropolis: Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Belfast

How does a city become a weapon? The ethnic conflict in the Balkans and the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland have left deep scars on the urban landscapes where they took place. In both cases, the cities became battlegrounds for the preservation of national identity, where every building and street corner played a crucial role.

While Balkan cities experienced ruthless urbicide ("city murder"), in Belfast, the fracture translated into a complete physical separation that continues today: "peace lines" still divide neighborhoods, and the education system remains fragmented between Catholics and Protestants.

In the evening, we will examine how cinema in both regions responded to this complex reality—from works that actively participated in the national struggle to films that turned their gaze to the heavy human cost of the spatial conflict.

At the conclusion of the lecture, we will screen the film "Hunger" (Steve McQueen, 2008), set in the "Maze" prison near Belfast, which follows the last weeks of Bobby Sands, who led the famous hunger strike of 1981. The film shows how the tension in the streets of Belfast seeped into the confined space, turning the human body into the last means of expression in the national struggle.

• Trigger warning: The film presents political content that may be sensitive for some viewers. It includes difficult scenes depicting physical violence, extreme hunger strike, and graphic and blunt depictions of prisoner protests and sanitary conditions in the confined space.

Event schedule:

19:00 - Hangout with "Cloud Records" and Coffee Lev drinks

20:00 - Lecture - Terror or Resistance

21:00 - Screening of the film "Hunger" (Steve McQueen, UK, 2008, 96 min.)

• Unmarked seating; alternative seating arrangements available
• It is recommended to arrive when doors open to secure a spot
• Registration for a single event is possible. The content of the sessions is independent of each other.

Host: Shani Kinisio, Film Researcher and Critic
Content Development: Moran Navon, Content Manager of Beit Libeling

The event is a collaboration between Beit Libeling, one of the cultural houses at Bialik Square, The Unseen Cinema Project, Debek, and Cloud Records.

Cinema Metropolis is a series of events dealing with cities around the world in moments of crisis and transformation: from wars and political and religious tensions, through social and economic difficulties, to periods of prosperity and peace. Each session examines different cities through cinema, helping us learn how historical crises shaped the city — both in reality and on screen. By looking at other cities in moments of crisis and change, we will also try to re-examine the reality of our own space and think about the future we wish to create here.