Žeđ kamenog mora

(The Thirst of a Stone Sea)
by Vladimir Perović
78', DV-Cam, Montenegro, 2007

“These fertile fields and this good water have ruined us! If they hadn’t given them back to us we would have gone off, as others did, around the world, in search of a better life…” These are the thoughts of the few remaining inhabitants of Cuce, in the southeast part of Montenegro. In this small, picturesque, rural community, life is at it was in the eighteenth century. Lyubo, by himself, builds the stone road that runs along the woods. As far as possible, one goes by car, then by horse. Momo, the functionary of the local community, is the person everyone turns to: for explosives, to have their blood pressure taken or their hair cut. And yet, up here, where they still make charcoal and break stones by hand, radio signals arrive carrying the news of the European Parliament, of Bush’s visits, of the inauguration of the monument to King Nicholas I … and of Coca-Cola. “I went to the doctor seven or eight years ago; I took a lot of medicines, but the best for me was Coca-Cola. I still drink it today. I never drink water, just Coca-Cola”.

Vladimir Perović
Born in 1955 in Montenegro, Vladimir Perović  earned a diploma in film and television directing. His documentaries have been seen around the world, and have won many prizes. He lives in Belgrade, in Serbia, where he teaches documentary technique at the BK Academy of Arts, and works both in Serbia and Montenegro.