JACK, THE BALKANS AND I

In 1972, Congolese-Belgian pop star Jack Roskam moves to Yugoslavia, where he meets and marries his Croatian wife. He becomes a guitarist of one of the most popular local rock bands, Galija. Tall, black and adorned with dreadlocks, Jack stands out on stage, amongst his mostly Serbian colleagues.

Being a convinced pacifist, Jack had escaped service in the Belgian army, but at the time of the outbreak of the Yugoslavian war his convictions are sorely tested. Als Galija’s songs become more Serb oriented, Jack decided to leave the band. While Yugoslavian people are forced to choose sides, Jack faces the dilemma to either return to Belgium or to stay but to share the fate of his new country and family and friends. The war will force him to change his Fender Stratocaster for a Kalashnikov and to fight in the Croatian army.

In this road movie, Jack and the Bosnian moviemaker travel through former Yugoslavia, reflecting on the choices they both made in the war.