SPEAK SO I CAN SEE YOU

By Marija STOJNIĆ

SQUARE EYES - as SALES All rights, World

First film - Completed 2019

A cinematic exploration of the unique soundscape of one of Europe’s oldest radio stations, Radio Belgrade, with a synesthetic insight into what makes us remember, think, understand, discover and feel.

Festivals
& Awards

IDFA 2019
First Appearance
MoMa Doc Fortnight 2020
Official Selection
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (online) 2021
Official Selection
    • Year of production
    • 2019
    • Genres
    • First film, Documentary
    • Countries
    • SERBIA, CROATIA, QATAR
    • Languages
    • SERBIAN, SERBO-CROATIAN, ENGLISH
    • Duration
    • 73 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Marija STOJNIĆ
    • Producer(s)
    • Miloš IVANOVIĆ (Bilboke), Marija STOJNIĆ (Bilboke)
    • Synopsis
    • Conjuring reality and wonder, Speak so I Can See You” takes us to a seemingly different era, by explor- ing the world of Radio Belgrade, Serbia’s only radio station that still broadcasts cultural, scientific, art and drama programming. One of Europe’s oldest radio stations and a true institution of the city, the station still broadcasts original programming and helps keep history, culture and critical thought, as well as ev- er-relevant questions about ourselves and the world, from slipping out of memory and mind.
      We witness the inevitable modernization of this “time capsule”. A guide through the world of its creators and listeners becomes the Radio itself, as an omnip- otent protagonist, with its own will and intentions.
      The film conjures everyday scenes at the station and free-form synesthetic interludes: through an unlikely blend of sounds, words, notes, beats and echoes, we are taken into a unique cinematic soundscape that doubles as a love letter to radiophonic art and its disarming curiosity for, and fascinating insight into, what makes us remember, understand, think, discov- er, and feel.
      Through three parallel narrative layers we uncover the world of creators of Radio Belgrade’s program, the intimate micro-worlds of its listeners, and the imaginary world of the Radio portrayed as a personi- fied giant.
      Daily shows, drama, late night talks are recorded, orchestras take turns in rehearsal rooms - we get to know its curious collective with an impeccable sense of humor and almost no sense of time - hosts, guests, technicians. Life resembles a different era in a building that reveals the glory of its Yugoslav past. Yet, under the new management, new changes take place - industrial furniture and analogue machines from the ’80s are removed, colorful wood-coated stu- dios are replaced by sterile white rooms, its physical history is being erased. The Radio sees everything and eavesdrops as it pleases. It asks forgotten but crucial questions about humanity, or just makes noises and transcends into abstract. Its waves travel beyond human reach and exit to the “real” world to meet its listeners and materialize in the space.