Drvengrad

Located in western Serbia, this traditional village was built by the film director Emir Kusturica for his award-winning movie Život je čudo (Life is a Miracle). Known as Drvengrad (which translates to “Timber Town”), or Küstendorf, the village was built at the meeting point of the Zlatibor and Tara mountains (Mokra Gora).

The town’s main landmark is the Church of Saint Sava, which is built in the manner of Russian wooden churches. Scattered around the main square of the village are authentic log cabins and timber houses that were relocated from other parts of Serbia and Republika Srpska.

The village streets are named after famous people from culture and science. The main street is named after the Nobel prize winner Ivo Andrić, and other streets and squares named after Argentine Marxist and Cuban revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentinian football player Diego Maradona, the film directors Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman, the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, and the scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla. 

You can find an art gallery, library, hotel underground cinema, Stanley Kubrick theater, traditional pastry shop and restaurant among the attractions in Drvengrad. The village also hosts the international Küstendorf Film Festival, which was established by Emir Kusturica. The festival is intended to be a meeting point of young film creators, directing students, and established actors and directors. A special event of the festival is the famous “movie burial” on the Bad Movies Cemetery. The festival has been visited by a number of famous actors, including Johnny Depp in 2010, when a statue dedicated to him was unveiled.