Želimir Žilnik represents one of the most compassionate voices in the world of film. His work shows remarkable continuity of free-spirited innovation and a constant readiness to try something new. His compassion for people is substantiat-d by his openhearted approach to form including documentary, fiction, short, television, and digital media. Pioniri maleni is an exemplary early work from the director, which focuses on the life of children who live on the street, steal, and break the law. Full of energy and wit, the film shows us their different perspectives on life while raising significant issues of social care, poverty, disability, and child prostitution. Like many of his later documentaries, the film emerges from and inspires active participation in the life of persons and communities often unnoticed, marginalised, and socially neglected. Žilnik was an initiator of the docudrama genre and Serbia’s most vital documentary auteur. His work is essential viewing and his practice remains as fresh today, five decades later.

Mina Radović