BELGRADE: The Serbian/Croatian long documentary Yugo Goes to America / Yugo ide u Ameriku had its world premiere at the CPH: DOX (11 – 22 March 2026) in the Special Premieres section. The first long film by Aleksa Borković and Filip Grujić was backed by Film Center Serbia and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre.
During one summer, three people born in the 90s in Serbia go on a trip to America, driving a Yugo from New York to Los Angeles. The film follows their journey through 23 federal states and over 10,000 kilometers, in order to tell us the story of the export of a small socialist car to the competitive Reagan America in the 80s.
“For quite a long time I have been trying to explain to myself why I started working on Yugo Goes to America, and the answer is actually simple: I wanted to experience something that until then I had only seen in movies. And during that trip, including the shooting of the film, and especially during the work in the editing, I realised that it was not only the adventure that attracted me, but that behind it there was also the need to understand how history crept into our lives and why we live today in the system we live in, and how it determines our paths. Yugo was an ideal companion for such a thing; it carries many symbols, many questions, but also sentiments that most of us, in this region, feel. For me, it’s the car I grew up in, for those a little older the first car they bought, for the oldest the car they fought for so that it could even exist”, Filip Grujić, who also penned the script, told FNE.
The film features: Filip Grujić, Aleksa Borković, Aleksandar Blažić, Ivana Finci, Carlos Ayala, Russell Chave, Lazar Marković, Janko Kroček, and Vanja Kroček, among others.
Čarna Vučinić produced the film through Serbia’s Naked in coproduction with Vanja Jambrović through Croatia’s Restart, as well as with Serbia’s United Media Group. Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, and Eurimages supported the project.
The budget was 240,000 EUR, producer Čarna Vučinić told FNE.
For the most part, Yugo Goes to America was shot on numerous locations in the USA from 2023 up to 2025.
The producers are currently in negotiations with sales agents.
Production Information:
Producer:
Naked (Serbia)
Čarna Vučinić: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Coproducers:
Restart (Croatia)
United Media Group (Serbia)
Credits:
Directors: Aleksa Borković, Filip Grujić
Scriptwriter: Filip Grujić
DoP: Aleksa Borković
Editor: Kristina Todorović
Composer: Boško Mijušković
Sound recording: Ivana Finci, Aleksandar Blažić
Sound designer: Tihomir Vrbanec
Cast: Filip Grujić, Aleksa Borković, Aleksandar Blažić, Ivana Finci, Carlos Ayala, Russell Chave, Lazar Marković, Janko Kroček, Vanja Kroček, Tony Ciminera, Nick Bygrave, Malcolm Bricklin, Alen Rizvanović, Hasan Kapić, Miroslav Kefurt, Sabrina Plaisance-Sia, Jason Vuic, Slaviša Grujić
