Four years after his debut , Dragojević finally returned to directing feature films - this time completely breaking out of the youth genre to tackle the gruesome issues related to the ongoing Yugoslav Wars with a controversial drama containing elements of dark comedy , '' Lepa sela lepo gore '' , set in war-torn Bosnia . In addition to critical praise , the movie made a measurable commercial impact with more than 700,000 tickets sold domestically during its theatrical run . It also raised plenty of controversy across Europe over its ideological aspects : while many saw it as a powerful denouncement of war , others viewed it as " fascist cinema " . The movie was even refused entry at the 1996 Venice Film Festival in addition to splitting the jury at the 1996 Thessaloniki International Film Festival that ultimately denied it the main prize despite being an overwhelming hit with the festival 's audience . In North America , the film received more or less universal critical praise as Dragojević started getting courted by Hollywood almost immediately following the film 's notable run on the festival circuit across the continent . He signed with William Morris Agency in late summer 1996 and got flown to Los Angeles where he had meetings with different studio heads . However , deeply dissatisfied with the scripts he was being offered , the director decided to come back home and do another film in Serbia . Therefore , the only tangible result of his brief flirtation with Hollywood on this occasion was the deal with Fox Lorber for the North American limited theatrical and home video distribution of '' Lepa sela lepo gore ''
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Srđan Dragojević