The 1972 smallpox epidemic in Yugoslavia was the last outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease that had officially been eradicated in Europe. Building a clear and impactful account of this period in history, filmmaker Mladen Kova?evi? delves into a vast cache of archival images—most of them restored—capturing everything from daily life in Yugoslavia to the symptoms and effects of the disease. A doctor shares through extradiegetic narration his vivid, bitter memories, which guide our historical and societal understanding of the event. Inevitably, and despite the 50-year gap, parallels emerge with the pandemic of our own times. (AJL)

Another Spring