Feminist Takes

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This collection of essays features a dynamic discussion among feminist thinkers centered on the filmic fate of Jugoslava, the protagonist in Želimir Žilnik's Early Works (1968). The narrative follows Jugoslava as she abandons her lumpenproletariat family to lead a group of vagabonds after the failed 1968 student movement in Socialist Yugoslavia. They journey to the countryside to share the teachings of Marx and Engels with local peasants, aiming to empower village women through lessons on contraception. However, their revolutionary efforts backfire, leading to violence against the group, culminating in a harrowing attack on Jugoslava. Her fervent desire for emancipation ultimately results in her punishment, depicted through the film's allegorical reflexivity. In the final scene, male comrades pursue her across desolate fields, culminating in her tragic death by gunfire and fire. As a canonical work within the Yugoslav New Film movement, Early Works challenges bureaucratic state socialism but has received limited attention regarding its gendered portrayal of revolutionary action and feminist critique. This volume is part of Antonia Majaca's ongoing project, Feminist Takes, which explores the intersection of Non-Western cinema with feminist theory, reflecting on the film's significance from diverse feminist perspectives.