Yugo Goes to America - ENFF on Tour

Expected

26 Sept 2026

Regie

Filip Grujić & Aleksa Borković

Language

Servisch, Engels

Origin

Servië, Kroatië, 2026

The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF), which showcases films from Central and Eastern Europe, has been held annually in The Hague since 2006. It has now become a wonderful tradition for the festival to visit the Rialto since 2016, and this year is no exception. On Saturday 26 September, the programme features the docu-comedy Yugo Goes to America, a loving tribute to what is perhaps the worst car ever made: the Yugo.

The film will be introduced by ENFF director Koštana Banović, and afterwards, visitors will be treated to some delicious wines on the mezzanine. With thanks to the Serbian and Croatian Embassies.

Once the pride of Yugoslavia, the Yugo – a little car that often broke down. Together with two friends, Filip Grujić sets off on a road trip right across the US in an old Yugo. It turns out to be a journey full of breakdowns and surprising encounters.

The Yugo was certainly not the most reliable car ever produced, but many people from the former Yugoslavia have fond memories of the vehicle manufactured there; after all, it was ‘their’ car. The numerous engine breakdowns and other mishaps were simply part and parcel of the deal; people were proud of the car, especially when it went on sale in the US in the late 1980s.

Writer and filmmaker Filip Grujić, born in 1995, has no such memories; he has never owned a Yugo, nor has he ever driven one. So it’s high time to create those memories after all. Together with two friends, co-director Aleksa Borković and sound engineer Aleksandar Blazic, he bought a rickety old Yugo to embark on a road trip from New York to Los Angeles to explore the story behind the Yugo in the US. It turns out to be a long journey full of car breakdowns, interesting encounters and nostalgia – an ode to a car brand that has all but disappeared, a witty tale of memories, friendship and adventure.