Cultural director urges Serbian cinemas to show Srebrenica film

The director of a cultural centre in a largely Muslim part of Serbia has appealed for an acclaimed movie about the massacre of 8,000 Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995 to be shown across Serbia.

In two screenings in the town of Novi Pazar on Tuesday, more than 1,000 people watched “Quo Vadis, Aida?”, Which was awarded the Best Film Award at the 2021 European Film Awards. It was first shown in any part of Serbia.

“Tickets sold out in an hour and a half,” said Hussein Memic, who screened the movie. “We are complaining that this movie will be shown all over Serbia. It makes no sense to play alone with Novi Pazar.”

The Yasmira Zubanik film has not been released in Bosnia’s Autonomous Republic of Serve, which has confused Bosnia by opposing legislation that makes it illegal to deny that the Srebrenica massacre constituted a genocide.

In 1995, Ratko Mladic, the commander of the Bosnian Serbian Army, and Radovan Karadži, the political leader of Bosnia and Herzea, were convicted of genocide by the former Yugoslavia International Criminal Court for their role in the Srebrenica massacre. I did.

Zubanik said many cinemas and distributors in other parts of Serbia and in the Republic of Serbia in Bosnia wanted to show the film, but were afraid of criticism and retaliation.

“My intention was never to divide,” she said.

“My intention was to tell the truth. For those who don’t know about Srebrenica or who refuse to watch it as a movie about a mother who wants to sit and protect her two children. That happens there. Because it was. ”

Serbian national television RTS has always shown award-winning films to date. However, following the appeal to the broadcast “Quo Vadis, Aida?”, He said he would not make a decision on the show under media pressure.

Boris Isakovich, who plays Mladic in the film, said he was disappointed that it was seen through a political lens, not as an artistic creation.

“It’s clear that this movie (screening) has been censored,” said Isakovic. “But it tells a lot about the power of cinema. It’s a powerful weapon that can tell a story.” - Reuters