Novi Kollektivizim - A video documentary about the art collective Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) from Ljubljana, Slovenia (1987).

In my third year at art school in 1987, my film friend Coen van Hall and I became fascinated by the music of the Slovenian band Laibach, known for its dark, industrial sound. A little research revealed that the band was part of an art collective called Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK).

Since my studies focused largely on video and film, we decided to explore this collective ourselves—with a camera and equipment—and to experiment with the medium of documentary as a study project. Unfortunately, the school refused to provide us with professional video equipment. We had hoped to use the U-matic system available there, but as poor students we had to rely on the kindness of others. A few friends lent us a quality VHS camcorder and a separate recorder. Still, given the limitations of VHS compared to U-matic, we had to lower our expectations of the final result. Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead—and so we set off for Yugoslavia.

The process of making this documentary turned into an adventure in every sense, and it took us until 1989 to complete it. One reason for the delay in postproduction was, once again, the art school: we were not allowed sufficient access to the editing equipment to properly learn video editing—ironically, one of the main reasons for undertaking the project in the first place. Frustrated by this, I eventually decided to quit art school.

The editing process was finally completed at a U-matic studio in Amsterdam, after the VHS material had been transferred. The resulting film, Novi Kollektivizim, was broadcast on the channel Kunstkanaal and distributed in the United States by the video distributor Kitchen. The video was presented in 1989 on the 5th edition of the AVé festival (audio visual experimental festival) in Arnhem (nl).

Today, the video is in poor condition and urgently needs restoration. Eventually, it will be made available on YouTube.