Motonation is a sci-fi biker film set in near-future Belgrade following the story of Čedo, a member of a counterculture movement called Happy Nation, as he embarks on an adventure beyond the commune’s boundaries with the help of a hacked city-motorcycle. The journey explores Čedo’s relationship with movement, his motivation to tap into a world of desire and expression that extends beyond the social and spatial boundaries of Happy Nation. The film explores movement, body-politics and performance in former Yugoslavia and in the region today. The characters face comedic alienation both when it comes to performativity of past narratives, and in relation to neoliberal ideas around freedom and community. Using the motorbike’s role as a literal driver/vehicle for transformation, it presents this alienation and discomfort as necessary and transformative tools for self-determination.

Choreography - Marija Iva Gocić; Costume Design - Jawara Alleyne; Editing - Dragana Jovanović; Sound - Tamás Marquetant; VFX - Erratas: Maximillian Schmoetzer and Harry Sanderson.