"Rikard Benčić" For Example
Marin Lukanović, Nadija Mustapić, 2008.
Categories: Documentary
The film is a story about transformation and transition – of facts, time, emotions and expectations.In part, it is a story about a building in Rijeka from the end of 19th century known as the Rikard Benčić factory, which hosted different industries, stood vacant in a state of semi-ruin for years, and is soon to be transformed into a new building of the Museum of Contemporary Art.Its history represents Rijeka′s traumatic bout of deindustrialization, which raises polemics about revitalization of its postindustrial urban zone and finding a planning consensus to re-tailor the cities′ identity. Its transformation into the Museum represents a key point in the city′s new strategic plan. This port-city has been developing over the past decade of post-war economy decrease a new interest for a cultural renaissance and finally, tourism.In other parts, it is also a story about the post-socialist transition period in the country and this city, consisting of lots of fast decision-making towards the western Modernity and of long periods of waiting: for economic backups, for bureaucracy to follow through, for politics to kick in or fall out… Most of all, it is a story that reveals a series of emotional truths of workers who worked most of their lives in the ex Rikard Benčič factory: their moving recounts about the ″heroic″ times of progress, friendship, equality and well being, which ended in the turmoil of the 1990s – war, national aptness, the fall of worker’s unions…
