This essay revisits the 1995 documentary Geto – Tajni život grada (Ghetto— Secret life of the city) as a critical ethnographic and visual document of Belgrade’s alternative scene in the 1990s. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks from Bakhtin’s heteroglossia, Lefebvre’s production of space, Jackson’s conceptualisation of intersubjectivity, and Scott’s hidden transcripts, the film is analysed as a polyphonic archive of urban resistance, informal economies, and cultural resilience. The essay revisits the impact and repercussions of šverc (smuggling) on both Yugoslavia’s collapse and contemporary Serbia, particularly in light of the 2024 Novi Sad disaster that claimed the lives of 16 individuals. Through the analysis of Geto’s visual, musical, and narrative elements, the text illuminates how the film facilitates a heteroglossic dialogue among conflicting voices and aesthetic fragments to illustrate how trauma and creativity intertwine in times of crisis. It also contextualizes Geto within larger processes through Mishkova’s concept of self-regioning that counters both external and internal Balkanist narratives. In so doing, the essay draws parallels between Geto and current student-led protests that continue to reclaim public spaces, memory, and political agency through diverse practices.