The video essay moves across historical periods and geopolitical contexts, weaving together archival materials, personal narratives, and lived experiences. It reflects on the lasting impact of ethno-nationalist systems while pointing to the urgency of non-identitarian approaches. Rather than presenting history as distant or closed, the work connects past and present through questions of memory, value, and belonging.
Themes such as expropriation, restitution, justice, and reconciliation emerge throughout the essay. These are explored through stories that link the Holocaust, the Yugoslav wars, and contemporary realities, alongside reflections on border identities, post-migrant experiences, and interethnic relations. One of the central narrative threads follows testimonies related to the 2001 conflict in North Macedonia, including the experience of a young Albanian woman navigating identity beyond the limits of institutional multiculturalism.
The essay also traces the history of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia embassy in Berlin, built during the Nazi era on expropriated land. Once inhabited by writer and Nobel laureate Ivo Andric, the building becomes a point of departure for reflecting on political responsibility, cultural memory, and the entanglement of personal and historical narratives.
Complementing the video work, the publication gathers interviews with individuals from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds in North Macedonia. Developed as part of an oral history project, the book documents personal experiences, memories, and reflections that often remain unheard. By foregrounding these voices, the publication contributes to preserving living histories while opening space for dialogue and understanding.
The project was developed through a collaborative effort between ProPeace North Macedonia Jadro Association and Kontrapunkt. The research was supported by the Goethe-Institut through the Culture Moves Europe programme, funded by the European Union, while the production of the video essay and publication was realized with the support of ProPeace North Macedonia.
By bringing together artistic research and personal testimony, Inheritance (All That We Leave Behind) approaches inheritance not as something fixed, but as an ongoing process. It invites reflection on how we engage with the past, how we carry it forward, and how new, more inclusive forms of coexistence can be imagined and built.
