Aircraft Tale

The average man in Yugoslavia, especially the people who aren’t nationally conscious enough, are easily spoiled even after a short trip to the decadent West. This reporter spent just 40 days in London and managed to adopt the local, wrongly-held attitude toward consumer details. Here’s one example: plastic bags. People in Britain do not carry around ordinary plastic bags to put cold bread and warm beer from the local shop in because the shops hand them out free of charge. The British people have a spoiled, wasteful attitude toward plastic bags; they use them once and then throw them away full of any old trash in the house. I got used to that imperial arrogance which soon compromised my character: I was discovered even before I arrived home in the plane. A lady who looked like a strict and ruthless teacher, currently a JAT stewardess, showed me how low I had fallen. About half an hour after she brought through the duty-free cart, she returned to ask anyone if they wanted a plastic bag. Since I have good manners and I was carrying a lot of British newspapers which wouldn’t fit into my bag I couldn’t refuse the kind offer and I asked her for a bag. The stewardess looked at me with an indescribable mix of contempt and disgust: What do you want a bag for? You didn’t get anything from the duty-free. I was ashamed of my brazenness. Perhaps I should have said I was going to be sick in it, maybe then she would have shown some mercy. The man on the seat next to mine was shocked; "I work for JAT and I’m sorry about this stupidity that only casts shame on the company." Doesn’t the expensive ticket to London cover the almost virtual price of a plastic bag and does politeness have a price?

The JAT man gave me his ordinary plastic bag.

Kusturica At Work

by Sonja Ciric

Emir Kusturica changed his mind. Underground won’t be his last film as we heard soon after its premiere. He started work on his new film Black Cat, White Cat, written by Gordan Mihic, last week. Kusturica said his thoughts and statements on not making movies came amidst a mood of believing "everything I believed in was breaking up". He became the target of a non-existent story, a story that was just his emotional reaction to criticism by French intellectuals who attacked Underground without even seeing it. This reaction was one that he wanted to use to draw attention to himself "as a man who lives in danger" and wants to get out.

Kusturica said his new film won’t be a big production. There are no dead in it, no history or miracles that make people fly. The film is a fairy tale about friendship, of how to save life from the wrong kind of love, wrong marriage, the nouveau riche -a tale that ends in an explosion of the joy of life. That’s also where the title came from: the black cat symbolizes bad luck and the white cat is "the image of good, love and beauty".

The budget is 15 million dinars provided by the producers of Underground with just two professional actors in the cast.

The movie will be shot along the Belgrade-Novi Sad highway, on the Danube till November 24, Kusturica’s birthday. He refuses to talk to the press during the filming because he does not want "a single drop of energy to leak".

The executive director of the film is Zoran Jankovic, an RTS man. The Serbian state TV (RTS) co-financed Underground and Kusturica said it won’t help the production of this film. "I think what you’re asking includes another question... I was often attacked, especially by the magazine you work for with no foundation several times. What the opposition press accuses the regime press of doing it does with anyone it doesn’t like. If VREME had been in power when I made Underground, I would have found a way to make the film with VREME or anyone else. Since they weren’t in power I had to go with someone else. The participation of RTS was as a powerful company without which some things can’t be done. This is a small film now and there’s no need to build new zoos. This time the people who don’t like me will have to find other, better reasons than the ones VREME published before the film was completed; saying it was a film for dollars made in English or other lies the opposition press published, which is actually the same lie that the regime media published."

Kusturica expects to release the film in March. "I left the first stage of my life behind me long ago and I have no need for opening nights any more. This is going to be an ordinary movie."

Pilots in the Plane

by Dragan Todorovic

Divci village, 12 km from Valjevo, has a zip code and an airfield. It also has Aleksa Jokic, Kosovo district chief and former Serbian traffic and communication minister, who was born there. On the basis of those two conditions - Aleksa and a 1,200 meter runway - the Poljana airfield will grow into an airport to accommodate aircraft with up to 50 passengers once the Socialists step into the next century.

VREME talked to a mechanic with Prince Air Belgrade. The private company, formally owned by Slobodan Stricevic from JAT, trains pilots and charters small planes to Greece, Vienna, Italy and Cyprus, he said. At the moment four young men are training on a Cessna 172. Fifty hours of training costs 10,000 DEM. Classes are conducted under the programs of the federal traffic ministry. Divci airfield was chosen since it has the right facilities.

VREME asked if the Serbian home affairs ministry’s Roben light plane was in the airfield and who was flying it. The mechanic said the plane is in a hangar and was given to his company for training purposes. "there are a few young men who still aren’t there but they have their own instructors." Does the Valjevo flying club earn any money from this. "It does when we drop leaflets." Is Slavko Stanisic, son of Serbian security service chief Jovica Stanisic, training on the Roben. The mechanic just stared and the duty officer at the club ignored the question.

Later this reporter found out that the younger Stanisic has a hobby paid for by his father’s "company". The Roben four seater is the only one of its kind in Yugoslavia. It once belonged to Genex flying school but ended up at the Serbian police. When it arrived to Divci, Stanisic senior decided to get his son flying lessons at a cost of 200 DEM an hour.

Formally, the Roben was given to Prince Air, which is staying clear of the flying lessons. Prince Air also has a 12 seater Cessna jet owned by Termoelektra director Ljuba Davidov and is used by local politicians and businessmen to go to Cyprus at a cost of 3,000 DEM a head paid for by the Serbian government.