18/08/2023 - The new film by The Life and Death of a Porno Gang director is the first Balkan film to ever bow in the festival's genre-oriented Midnight Madness section

The Official Selection of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (taking place from 7-17 September 2023) will host the world premiere of Mladen Djordjević’s Working Class Goes to Hell [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Djordjević
film profile]. The director is best known for The Life and Death of a Porno Gang, which won Best Screenplay at Fantasia Film Festival in 2009, and screened at more than 40 festivals, winning a string of other prizes. His new film is the first Balkan title to ever screen in Toronto's popular, genre-oriented Midnight Madness section. 

In Working Class Goes to Hell, the factory that once employed an entire town and its surrounding villages has closed down due to a questionable privatization process, coinciding with a tragic incident where a group of its workers perished in a premeditated fire. Devastated by the loss of their loved ones and the subsequent corrupt sale of the factory, the remaining workers initiate protests, but their efforts seem futile, yielding no concrete results. Feeling abandoned not only by the authorities but also by their cherished church, they find themselves seeking solace and answers in the supernatural.

A charismatic woman named Svetlana (Tamara Krcunović), former convict Mija (Leon Lučev) and other determined workers band together to explore mystical avenues for hope and justice. As they clumsily delve into the mysterious realm, they undergo social, emotional, and sexual liberation, and unexpectedly tap into an inner power they didn't know they possessed.

"My fourth film, like my first film, is about people and groups who are pushed to the margin or inhabit it willingly," says Djordjević. "The margin actually means freedom for them and this film features the voice of the suppressed. It gives me great honor to be part of the Midnight Madness section, the vital part of TIFF. For now, we must hold our meetings at night, but soon we will see the light of day."

Working Class Goes to Hell, previously titled Labour Day, was produced by Milan Stojanović (Sense Production, Serbia), Djordjević (Banda, Serbia), Martichka Bozhilova and Neda Milanova (Agitprop, Bulgaria), Maria Drandaki (Homemade Films, Greece), Ivan Marinović (Adriatic Western, Montenegro), Ankica Jurić Tilić (Kinorama, Croatia), Anamaria Antoci (Tangaj Production, Romania) and Ivica Vidanović and Nevena Savić (Cinnamon Film, Serbia).

The production was supported by Film Center Serbia, Bulgarian National Film Centre, Greek Film Centre, Film Centre of Montenegro, Croatian Audiovisual Centre and Eurimages.