Harvard University Humanities Discussion

Please review the questions below in preparation for our Monday, March 28 discussion of “Migration Through Eastern Europe.” The questions are based on director Želimir Žilink’s films Fortress Europe (2000) and Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003), as well as the text by Pavle Levi and Želimir Žilnik, titled “Europe’s Internal Exiles.” You can write your weekly discussion post in response to one of these questions.

1. In Želimir Žilink’s film Fortress Europe (2000), what kind of circumstances force Artyom Invanovich Ivanov and his daughter Ekaterina to seek entry into Italy?

2. What is your impression of the Italian and Slovenian border guards in Fortress Europe (2000)? How do these border guards relate to migrants?

3. What do you think about the way Artyom, his daughter, and other migrants are treated by border guards and immigration officials?

4. How are migrants represented in Fortress Europe (2000)?

5. What are some examples of how migrants relate to each other in the film?

6. How does Fortress Europe (2000) define Eastern Europe and the Balkans in relationship to Europe?

7. What is your understanding of the reason why Roma families are being sent to Serbia in Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003)?

8. How do Roma families and their children especially cope with being removed from Germany?

9. What is Kenedi Hasani’s role in the film, which is named after him?

10. What is your understanding of the finale in Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003)? What message or meaning does the film’s conclusion communicate?

11. Considering Fortress Europe (2000) and Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003) together, how would you describe the social groups they represent in terms of national identity and their experience with migration?

12. How does the director Želimir Žilink examine the bureaucratic procedures and tactics of deportation in Fortress Europe (2000) and Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003)?

13. What do you think about Želimir Žilink’s use of non-professional actors in Fortress Europe (2000) and Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003)? How do these non-professional actors impact your understanding and experience of these films?