The Occupation, the 27th Picture

We encounter the controversial Croatian film director Lordan Zafranović in his voluntary exile in Prague. The film follows his rise from a talented outsider to the celebrated Yugoslav director of the acclaimed war film, An Occupation in 26 Pictures, presented at Cannes Competition in 1979. His life story is an unconventional depiction of a rise and fall that reveals compromises made in order to survive artistically during communism, as well as the missed opportunities and miscalculations that led to his inability to adapt in later years. Is the charismatic Zafranović a national traitor or a victim of historical circumstances in which the only thing he wanted to do, in his own words, was to be himself and make films?