Kinopravda Institute is a factory of ideas exploring the various horizons of cinematic arts in the 21st century. Through a multidisciplinary program that operates along the axis of research-curation the Institute develops and presents creative work for audiences both offline and online. Kinopravda Institute is an independent initiative of the Vlada Petrić Foundation, based in Belgrade, Serbia and operating internationally.

Kinopravda Institute derives its name from the film series by legendary Soviet filmmaker and theorist Dziga Vertov. KINOPRAVDA is a double-homage, also to Vlada Petrić who was Henry Luce Chair of Cinema at Harvard University, and whose namesake foundation provides support for the Institute. Petrić’s book Constructivism in Film is the defining English-language monograph on Vertov’s life and work.

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Vlada Petrić

Biography

The life and work of Vlada Petrić, Henry Luce Chair of Cinema at Harvard University and co-founder of the Harvard Film Archive.

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Bibliography

Books, essays and articles written by Vlada Petrić.

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Filmography

Films, videos and television programs directed by Vlada Petrić.

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News

A Rare Cinematic Masterpiece by Vlada Petrić //„Light-Play: A Tribute to Moholy-Nagy“ // arrives at the Harvard Film Archive this November

October 29 2024

We are thrilled to announce an upcoming screening of Light-Play: A Tribute to Moholy-Nagy, an exceptional, one of a kind experimental video essay by the esteemed film theorist and director Vlada Petrić at Harvard Film Archive, on November 22nd at 7 p.m. 

This special screening is part of the Archive’s series The Yugoslav Junction: Film and Internationalism in the SFRY, 1957–1988, which explores the vibrant intersection of Yugoslav cinema.

“Light Play: A Tribute to Moholy-Nagy” represents a video essay through which Vlada Petrić pays homage to the legendary avant-garde artist László Moholy-Nagy, a Bauhaus pioneer known for his exploration of light, motion, and kinetic sculpture. Drawing inspiration from Moholy-Nagy’s 1930 kinetic piece Light Modulator, featured in the experimental film Ein Lichtspiel: Schwarz, Weiss, Grau, Petrić reinterprets every frame of the original film, incorporating Dziga Vertov’s theories of interval and montage. Through this approach, he carefully deconstructs then reconstructs the sequences creating a fresh narrative rhythm and adding experimental depth.

Petrić’s film explores the profound question: What happens when light and motion become the storytellers? The result is a complex dialogue between 20th-century experimental art and contemporary visual theory, conveyed solely through visual language. By using the simplicity of light, motion, and geometric abstraction, he creates a rhythm that is both cohesive and abstract, engaging the viewer in a unique narrative form.

After being completed in 1988, Light Play stands as a rarely seen gem in the world of experimental cinema. Thanks to the Kinopravda Institute, this masterpiece will be showcased in an exclusive screening and is now available for rental as a digital file—bringing broader access to a work that has long remained hidden from view. More information about this screening at Harvard Film Archive can be found →  here

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