Share this article Share
In Fiume o morte!, director Igor Bezinovic brings together three hundred locals to re-stage the surreal 1919 occupation of Rijeka by poet-warrior Gabriele D’Annunzio. This re-enactement, both punk and playful, becomes a political act. Through a feverish mix of archives, performances, and testimonies, the film playfully and sharply dismantles the machinery of nationalist propaganda, exposing the toxic legacies of fascism. D’Annunzio appears as a grotesque — yet visionary — prototype of the authoritarian clown, foreshadowing many others we need not name.
Igor Bezinovic is a filmmaker born in Rijeka, which is now part of Croatia. He graduated in film directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. His films include The Blockade (2012), Veruda (2015) and A Brief Excursion (2017) which was shown in Bozar in 2020, along with many shorts of all shapes and sizes. His work has been shown internationally at events including IFF Rotterdam, DOK Leipzig, IDFF Jihlava and CPH:DOX.