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JMZM: Seemingly Indifferent to Disaster
"Naoko nehajani spram udesa" [Seemingly Indifferent to Disaster], struck us as a fitting title for this concert – a sound intervention accompanying a series of short films from the Zagreb Film archive: Brod by Antun Babaja (1957), and Bura (1958), Pod ljetnim suncem (1960), and Ljudi s Neretve (1966) by Obrad Gluščević. “Seemingly Indifferent to Disaster” is a quote from Babaja’s Brod (the Ship), which, from today’s perspective, seems to describe us, in 2025 just as much as it describes the protagonists of these films, which are now over half a century old. The films, each in their own way, explore life by the sea, from the sea, and “against” the sea. ©Photos Tajči Čekada / Dragana Jurisic
Dates and times
Friday, September 19, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Address
Karolina Riječka Pier
Watching these films and the life from 60–70 years ago evokes a disturbing feeling, with an impression that people were somehow healthier, happier, and more beautiful in a time when mere survival was much harder, yet also simpler in a way. Our unease arises as a byproduct of temporal distance and the inevitable comparison between the life we see on the screen and the life we live now. Like some ironic deus ex machina, they efforts have brought us to the calamity we so indifferently inhabit today.
Maybe it sounds too serious (and we will certainly try, through the music, to illustrate the humorous side of this tragedy), but the people in these films struggled, worked, and felt joy simply because the war they had just survived was over. And we have normalized today, and live alongside it, indifferent, carelessly absorbed in whatever distraction the internet offers.
©Photo Dragana Jurisic
JMZM
JMZM are perhaps best known to the wider public for Opera Industriale, which was performed in 2020 at the opening of the European Capital of Culture in Rijeka’s port, and was created based on their musical concept. JMZM consists of Josip Maršić and Zoran Medved. Maršić is a former member of bands such as Porko Dio, Regoč, Let 3, Very Expensive Porno Movie, Gori Ussi Winnetou, and The Dying Sun Ensemble, while Medved played in bands Pohane Dlake, Plod Mirže, and The Stoned Cows.
Maršić and Medved
Maršić and Medved have been working together for many years and have performed in numerous film, theatre, performance, and live set projects. They have released 30 studio albums (jmzm.bandcamp.com), worked on sound design for around ten documentary films, and composed music for many theatre productions. In addition to the opening of the European Capital of Culture, JMZM have presented their work at many renowned events such as the Zagreb Music Biennale, the Opatija Music Tribune, the Music Tech Fest in Ljubljana, the Audio Art and Do It With Others festivals in Pula, and the Maribor Lent Festival. Their music has been reviewed and featured in international publications such as The Wire and Toneshift.
©Photo Dragana Jurisic
