Yugo Goes to America Yugo ide u Ameriku Showcase
Tickets
On sale viff.org
About
North American Premiere
A group of millennials from Belgrade set out on a cross-country journey from New York to Los Angeles in a 1990 Yugo, the ill-fated Yugoslavian car widely considered one of the worst ever made. Filip Grujić and Aleksa Borković trace the Yugo’s introduction to the American market in 1986, the ensuing Yugomania, and the company’s collapse alongside the breakup of Yugoslavia. Viewed through the lens of nostalgia, the car’s quirks — a spare tire stored beside the engine, a seatbelt that fastens into the door frame — have a certain charm. Less endearing is its tendency to fall apart and overheat, making the 10,000-kilometre voyage something of a miracle that forces the crew to rely on the kindness of strangers along the way.
An ode to a vehicle, a culture, and the romance of the open road, Yugo Goes to America is a freewheeling documentary that turns a bucket-list adventure into an exploration of a nation’s history and pop culture, set to a hard-driving playlist of Yu-rock classics.
EU Audience Award for Best Documentary, Beldocs 2026
A group of millennials from Belgrade set out on a cross-country journey from New York to Los Angeles in a 1990 Yugo, the ill-fated Yugoslavian car widely considered one of the worst ever made. Filip Grujić and Aleksa Borković trace the Yugo’s introduction to the American market in 1986, the ensuing Yugomania, and the company’s collapse alongside the breakup of Yugoslavia. Viewed through the lens of nostalgia, the car’s quirks — a spare tire stored beside the engine, a seatbelt that fastens into the door frame — have a certain charm. Less endearing is its tendency to fall apart and overheat, making the 10,000-kilometre voyage something of a miracle that forces the crew to rely on the kindness of strangers along the way.
An ode to a vehicle, a culture, and the romance of the open road, Yugo Goes to America is a freewheeling documentary that turns a bucket-list adventure into an exploration of a nation’s history and pop culture, set to a hard-driving playlist of Yu-rock classics.
EU Audience Award for Best Documentary, Beldocs 2026
