After losing loved ones, jobs, and their dignity to a factory fire and due to dubious privatisation, a group of former workers turns to supernatural means as they fight for justice. Following in the footsteps of his debut, the notorious cult film The Life and Death of a Porno Gang, Đorđević creates an uncompromising social satire on corrupt transition by deftly using genre elements of horror, noir, action film and dark comedy, bringing us closer to the genre in which the reality of post-Yugoslavian societies unravels. This film presents an insightful analysis of pseudo-religion and depicts the absurd positioning of the former working class within neoliberal capitalism. As stated by the jury of this year’s FEST, “This is a film whose relatively long and prolonged exposition could be debated. However, film direction is so much more than that: it encompasses a worldview, both personal and cinematic, and is, in fact, close to philosophy. Precisely these segments make the film Working Class Goes to Hell such a special, inspired and singularly exciting work of art that, in a convincing and creatively powerful way, confronts us with the realisation of the very despair that often traps us so deeply that we entertain false prophets and find false saviours in those who are often the exact opposite of what they appear to be.” However, despite its dark tonality and Đorđević’s recognizably transgressive approach, the conclusion that arises is that aside from solidarity, the only thing that can save the working class is a good sense of humour, or rather, sarcasm.

*The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Mladen Đorđević.

Awards and Festivals:

Toronto International Film Festival, Midnight Madness (2023) – world premiere; Goteborg Film Festival (2023); Tallin Black Nights Film Festival (2023); FEST – best regional film, best direction, FEDEORA award; Sofia International Film Festival (2024); Wiesbaden GoEast (2024)