BalkafoniK at Cabaret Sauvage

Text: Brendan Seibel
Image: Ziveli Orkestar

The always festive Cabaret Sauvage will be hosting this year's incarnation of BalkafoniK, an evening celebrating the cultural melange of Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. High spirits and an effervescent sense of humor will carry through the night.

Initiating the proceedings is a screening of Slobodan Sijan's 1980 black comedy Who Sings Over There? Part road-movie, part socio-political allegory, Sijan's film follows the antics and rivalries of bus passengers winding their way to Belgrade on the eve of Germany's invasion. Scripted by Dusan Kovacevic, the genius who wrote Emir Kusturica's breakthrough Underground, Sijan's wry salvo was voted best Serbian film made between 1947 and 1995 by the Yugoslavian Board of the Academy of Film Art and Science.

When the lights come on the music begins. Four hours of propulsive brass will resonate and reverberate through bodies, commanding young and old to commandeer the dance floor. Traditionalists Ziveli Orkestar lay the framework of two-step tuba rhythms and a shuffling military cadence while powerhouse vocalist Suzana Djordjevic leads exuberant sing-a-longs. Melting-pot Haïdouti Orkestar collective ups the ante infusing their frenetic sound with a sonorous Turkish twist. Covering the cracks, ensuring everyone leaves joyously exhausted, Raki Balkans Sound System will be spinning and mixing your favorite beats throughout the night.

BalkanofoniK 2024
February 5th, Film: 7pm; Music:9pm
4 € en prévente / 17 € sur place
Le Cabaret Sauvage
Parc de la Villette
Pedestraian Access at 59 bd Mac Donald
Mº Porte de la Villette