When the phone rang: A journey through memory and displacement
On a seemingly ordinary Friday morning in 1992, 11-year-old Lana receives a phone call that will forever alter the course of her life. This pivotal moment is the heartbeat of Iva Radivojević’s second narrative feature, When the Phone Rang (2024), showcased in the Locarno Film Festival’s Concorso Cineasti del Presente section.
A call that echoes through time
The phone call serves as a double-edged sword for Lana, marking the simultaneous loss of her grandfather and her homeland. This traumatic event thrusts her into a prolonged state of dislocation, causing a fragmentation of her memories and history. To cope with the upheaval, Lana obsessively revisits the phone call, clinging to it as a touchstone of truth amidst the chaos of her rapidly changing world.
A film that transcends borders
When the Phone Rang is a unique blend of travelogue and memory reconstruction, eschewing exceptionalism in favor of a fluid narrative that transcends geographical boundaries. While Radivojević subtly hints at the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the film deliberately leaves the “country that no longer exists” unnamed. This choice underscores the universality of displacement, resonating with contemporary crises in Ukraine, Palestine, and Sudan.
A director’s personal journey
Born in Serbia and now based in Lesbos, Greece, Radivojević has a prolific body of work that includes short films, documentaries, and her first feature-length narrative, Aleph (2021). Her films often explore themes of dislocation, fluid national identity, and itinerancy. With When the Phone Rang, Radivojević delves into her own history, prompted by her return to a culture she once left behind.
The making of a memory
To bring this deeply personal story to life, Radivojević returned to Serbia and assembled a small, versatile crew. Budget constraints meant that she lived in the same apartment where the film was shot, a decision that blurred the lines between her life and her art. She gathered old friends, neighbors, and family photographs to recreate a vivid portrait of her childhood neighborhood, populated by familiar faces from her past.
The power of voice and memory
Voiceover has long been a hallmark of Radivojević’s work, reflecting the fluid, shapeshifting nature of migrant identities. In When the Phone Rang, the disembodied voice serves as a ghostly presence, haunting the images and reminding viewers of the loss of clarity in pictorial memory. The telephone becomes a time machine, allowing past and future to converse, while the narrator’s voice modulates to capture both inner and outer experiences.
A child’s perspective
Telling the story from a child’s viewpoint allows for a raw, emotional resonance. Lana’s simple yet profound feelings offer a powerful lens through which to explore themes of loss and resilience. Radivojević emphasizes moments of joy—bad haircuts, kitchen dances, first loves—making the subsequent grief all the more poignant.
Sharing the heartache
Radivojević’s ultimate goal is to share the heartache of displacement and loss. “The wound can close once you have invited witnesses to the pain,” she says. In this case, the witness could be the audience, or even Radivojević herself.
When the Phone Rang is a testament to the enduring power of memory and the resilience of the human spirit. It invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences of loss and displacement, offering a universal story that resonates across time and space.
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