Czech Republic, Prague. The making of the film “Underground” an 1995 award-winning film directed by Emir Kusturica with screenplay by Dušan Kovacevic.
It is also known by the subtitle Once “Upon a Time There Was a Country” which was the title of the 5-hour mini-series shown on Serbian RTS television. The film uses the epic story of two friends throughout World War II, Cold War, and War in the Balkans to portray and satirize Yugoslav history from the beginning of World War II until the beginning of Yugoslav Wars. The film was an international co-production with companies from FR Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary. In 1995 it won the Palme d’Or at the prestigious Cannes film festival.
It faced aggressive and vitriolic criticism in Europe along political lines, some critics claimed the film propagated a pro-Serbian view of the Yugoslav others suggested that its characterization of Balkan ethnic groups was equally caustic to each.
1993