THE SECOND GENERATION

DRUGA GENERACIJA might be thought to be targeted at a special-interest audience, but the message is more universal than it first seems. On the surface the documentary deals with words like “Yugo” or “Chefur” – terms used in Slovenia for immigrants from the constituent republics of the former Yugoslavia. The first generation came in search of work or to escape the war,and stayed on more or less by accident. Their children are the real subject: the second generation who do not share their parents’ immediate experience of war but feel its consequences all the same. Like teenagers everywhere, their main interests are music and sports, the opposite sex, school and financial success. But they remain trapped in the grey area between two different cultures, struggle with the problems faced by children of immigrants around the world. They see themselves as Slovenes, but their parents’ nationality defines their social rank. Although director Amir Muratović maintains an observational stance, many of the encounters between young people of different ethnic backgrounds were obviously staged for the film. But the interest the protagonists display in the course of these interview-like situations is authentic, and they are genuinely surprised to discover that their peers are less alien than they thought. Awareness of the problem exists, and efforts are being made to break down the constrictions of ethnic identity – religious customs are discussed during lessons, courses are offered in the folk dances of the various groups, pupils produce rap music with a self-ironic take on their situation. But no matter how offensively the issues are addressed, the atmosphere remains ambiguous: the desire to find a true home remains unfulfilled. German premiere.