Audience reactions have exceeded our expectations, remarked the show’s producer Ankica Jurić Tilić, adding that the audience had wonderful questions and a very emotional and positive response. Director Dalibor Matanić, who also attended the premiere, is equally thrilled. “It was amazing to see the show on the big screen, together with the audience who responded very emotionally right from the start,” he said.

Renowned French daily Le Monde was also impressed, including The Last Socialist Artefact in its selection of top five not-to-miss series. “Top production and acting performances make the series a rare discovery you should not pass over,” conclude Le Monde critics in their recommendation.      

The endorsement is all the more substantial, given that Series Mania, held 26th August – 2nd September, features over 60 exclusive premieres from around the world. The Last Socialist Artefact screened in the Panorama International competition programme, alongside 14 other shows from across the globe.   

The series is based on the novel "No-Signal Area" written by Robert Perišić (Croatian publisher is Sandorf, 2015), while the writers on the show include Hana Jušić, Milan F. Živković and Jelena Paljan. It is a story about two guys from Zagreb who arrive in a rundown little town, planning to bring back to life a long-abandoned factory in order to manufacture a turbine no longer in use for a mysterious client. The six-part show follows crafty businessman Oleg (Rene Bitorajac), his introverted cousin Nikola (Krešimir Mikić), Šeila (Jovana Stojiljković), a young art curator returning to her home town, former union leader Janda (Izudin Bajrović), Branoš (Goran Bogdan), a young worker with all the attributes of a new leader, and Lipša (Tihana Lazović), a laidback and clever waitress who always lands on her feet. The show also features appearances by Slavko Štimac, Lana Barić, Milena Zupančič, Stipe Radoja, Anđela Ramljak, Marko Mandić, Goran Marković and many others.   

The director of photography on the project is Marko Brdar, Tomislav Pavlic is in charge of editing, Jura Ferina and Pavao Miholjević composed the music, Julij Zornik is the sound editor, with Ivo Knezović in charge of production design and Selena Orb of costume design.

The series is a Kinorama from Zagreb production, co-produced by Slovenian company Perfo, Serbian Sense Production and Finnish Citizen Jane. The majority of the funding came from the Croatian Radiotelevision and Creative Europe, while screening rights were secured in advance by Slovenian television Pro Plus and Serbian RTS. During development, the project was supported by Creative Europe and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, which also supported it through its filming incentives scheme, whereas in development the project was presented at international markets CineLink Drama at Sarajevo and precisely at Series Mania, held in Paris that year.   

Croatian viewers will be able to catch the series on Croatian Radiotelevision, as part of 2021/22 regular autumn programming. 

Cover photographs: The Last Socialist Artefact series premiere