Emir Kusturica and "The No Smoking Orchestra"

On July 06, 2023 at 19:00 on the stage of the Tuning Fork hall, Emir Kusturica and The No Smoking Orchestra will perform in Pyatigorsk literally for the last time. The famous maestro, for whom music has been no less important for a long time than making films, decided in the near future to devote himself only to cinema, which means that soon the filmography of the knight of the Legion of Honor and the winner of the awards of the largest film festivals in Europe will expand significantly to the delight of fans of good cinema.

Emir Kusturica has been on the staff of The No Smoking Orchestra, the most indefatigable guest performers in Eastern Europe, for more than twenty years as a rhythm guitarist. And their concerts, generously quoting both cinematic and rock 'n' roll classics, have earned fame for shows that cannot be confused with anything. The modern history of the rock band The No Smoking Orchestra began in 1998 with the recording of the soundtrack to Kusturica's film “Black Cat, White Cat” and the director joining the team as a guitarist. Prior to that, the collective had existed since the 1980s under different names and broke up in 1990 due to an internal conflict related to political instability in Yugoslavia.

Emir Kusturica is a man of legend, who is now called the "Balkan Fellini". The story of the life and career growth of the cult film director, and later the musician Kusturica is a vivid picture. This man has managed to achieve success and fame in many industries in his life. The biography of the film director is filled with bright colors and unsurpassed film works, the style of which film critics have defined as "Balkan Baroque". One of the most striking works of Kusturica as an actor was the Russian-made film directed by Andrei Volgin "The Balkan Frontier", based on real events that occurred during the confrontation between Albania and Yugoslavia in 1999:

"For me, participation in the Balkan Frontier project is an expression of my love for Russia, a tribute to its significant role in the fate of my homeland. We are brothers, and this movie is about that too."