BALKAN BEATS BERLIN. Culture Recycling

Robert, Tatjan and Alen came to Berlin as youngsters, all of them refugees from countries at war with each other. Together with like-minded friends escaped the nationalistic cant of their compatriots by immersing themselves in the alternative scene based in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. When the pubs they visited began to play Yugoslavian rock and pop, the idea for “Balkan Beats” was born. In no time at all a mode of cultural recycling that started out as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Tito’s birthday had become a popular Happening, a highly ironic connection of musical worlds. The documentary portrays three of the creators.