Slike iz života udarnika (Life of a Shock Force Worker) (15*) + ScreenTalk with Esther Kinsky & Xiaolu Guo
This screening celebrates the release of Esther Kinsky's new book, with a screening of the once banned Yugoslavian film on workers and socialism.
This event in our ongoing collaboration with Fitzcarraldo Editions centres around the publication of Seeing Further by Esther Kinsky. Her latest novel explores her love of cinema and the importance of collective spectatorship. For this event, Esther has selected Slike iz života udarnika (Life of a Shock Force Worker) a once banned, important piece of Yugoslavian cinema, and will be in conversation following the screening.
The film delves into the lives of the devoted workers who were at the forefront of the socialist labour movement in post-World War II in Yugoslavia.
It explores the relentless spirit and determination of these "udarnici" as they contribute to the reconstruction and industrialization of their country. It is a poignant tribute to the men and women who tirelessly worked to build a new future.
Slike iz života udarnika (Life of a Shock Force Worker) 1972 Yugoslavia. Directed by Bahrudin Bato Čengić. In Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian; English subtitles. 79 min.
In partnership with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
Digital restoration by the Slovenian Cinematheque in cooperation with the Sarajevo Film Center, the Croatian State Archives and the Austrian Film Museum, with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, with an additional contribution of “A Season of Classic Films,” an initiative of ACE – Association des Cinémathèques Européennes, supported by the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme; courtesy Sarajevo Film Center.
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Booking fees
£1.50 booking fee per online/phone transaction.
No fee when tickets are booked in person.
Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. Members do not pay booking fees.
Biographies
Xiaolu Guo is a Chinese British novelist, memoirist and filmmaker. Her novels include A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, and I Am China. Her memoir Once Upon A Time In The East won the National Book Critics Circle Award 2017 and was shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize. Radical was published by Penguin 2023 and was followed by My Battle of Hastings in 2024, completing her autobiographical trilogy. Her recent novel A Lover’s Discourse was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2020. Named as a Granta’s Best of Young British Novelist in 2013, she has also directed a dozen award winning films, including How Is Your Fish Today (Sundance Official Selection) and UFO In Her Eyes (TIFF). Her feature She, A Chinese received the Golden Leopard Award at the Locarno Festival 2009. Her documentary We Went to Wonderland was in the Official Selection of ND/NF at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Once Upon A Time Proletarian premiered at Venice Film Festival 2009. She had her film retrospectives at London’s Whitechapel Gallery (2019), Cinematheque Switzerland (2011) and the Greek Film Archive (2018). Her next novel, a subversive reimagining of Moby-Dick entitled Call Me Ishmaelle, will be published by Penguin in March 2025.
Esther Kinsky grew up by the river Rhine and lived in London for twelve years. She is the author of six volumes of poetry, five novels (Summer Resort, Banatsko, River, Grove, Rombo), numerous essays on language, poetry and translation and three children’s books. She has translated many notable English (John Clare, Henry David Thoreau, Iain Sinclair) and Polish (Joanna Bator, Miron Białoszewski, Magdalena Tulli) authors into German. Both River and Grove won numerous literary prizes in Germany. Seeing Further is her fourth book published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.
Give a year of art, music, film and theatre
Biographies
Esther Kinsky grew up by the river Rhine and lived in London for twelve years. She is the author of six volumes of poetry, five novels (Summer Resort, Banatsko, River, Grove, Rombo), numerous essays on language, poetry and translation and three children’s books. She has translated many notable English (John Clare, Henry David Thoreau, Iain Sinclair) and Polish (Joanna Bator, Miron Białoszewski, Magdalena Tulli) authors into German. Both River and Grove won numerous literary prizes in Germany. Rombo was awarded the newly founded W.-G.-Sebald-Literaturpreis 2020. In 2022, Kinsky was awarded the prestigious Kleist Prize for her oeuvre.
Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent publisher specialising in contemporary fiction and long-form essays. Founded in 2014, it focuses on ambitious, imaginative and innovative writing, both in translation and in the English language. The series, designed by Ray O’Meara, are published as paperback originals with French flaps, using a custom serif typeface (called Fitzcarraldo). Fitzcarraldo Editions publishes, among other authors, the 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature laureates Svetlana Alexievich, Olga Tokarczuk, Annie Ernaux and Jon Fosse.
Copies will be available to purchase following the screening.
Cinema 3
Location
Barbican Cinema 2 & 3 are located on Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance. From Silk Street, you’ll see a zebra crossing that will take you across the road to the venue.
Address
Beech Street
London
EC2Y 8DS
Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.
We’ve plenty of places for you to relax and replenish, from coffee and cake to wood-fired pizzas and full pre-theatre menus
Access
Cinemas 2 & 3 are located at Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican Centre’s main Silk Street entrance. There are a couple of steep, dropped kerbs and an incline to negotiate between the two sites. Level access from Beech Street.
Mobility
Each auditorium has three permanent wheelchair spaces (two in the third row and one in the front row) and 153 fixed seats with capacity for a further three spaces in the front row. Access to each auditorium is up a ramp. There are also a number of seats with step-free access.
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs may be taken into the cinema – please tell us when booking to ensure your seat has enough space. If you prefer, you may leave your dog with a member of the foyer staff during the performance.
Hearing facility
An infrared system for hard of hearing customers is provided in each auditorium; headsets or neck loops can be collected from foyer staff. The ticket desk counter is fitted with an induction loop.
For more access information, please visit our Accessibility section.
