SCANDAL AT SFF: They didn't know a film about the 'heroism of the Chetniks' was promoted today

(Patria) - The 29th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival was rocked today by a scandal involving the screening of the Serbian film "Heroji Halijarda" which portrays the Chetniks in a positive light. It is part of the SFF program "CineLink Drama Showcase Telekoma Srbija" where producer Nedeljko Bajić, son of Radoš Bajić who is credited for this film, addressed the audience today.

The SFF was caught off guard, and in a statement to Klix they said: "Any comment is superfluous, and we are taken aback. That program slot was intended for the presentation of future films and series by this company. We will handle all further matters regarding this case with this company, because content was shown that was not agreed upon," said Andrijana Copf, PR of the Sarajevo Film Festival.

In this film, Chetnik forces led by war criminal Draža Mihailović are portrayed as positive actors who helped in a major rescue operation of Allied forces behind enemy lines in World War II.

In reactions visible on social media, it is noted that this would be equivalent to screening a film at SFF in 2073 about the heroic role of soldiers of war criminal Ratko Mladić.

For those who don't grasp the scale and context of the scandal, this is - without exaggeration - like our grandchildren experiencing a promotion of a film about the heroism of Ratko Mladić's army soldiers at SFF 2073.

— Adis Nadarević (@Ridjobrki) August 15, 2023

Nedeljko Bajić commented on Instagram in the afternoon, stating that the presentation in Sarajevo "went phenomenally."

Among the first to react was journalist Dragan Bursać, who alerted the organizer of the Sarajevo Film Festival through a series of tweets.

Unfortunately, it's true. Thanks for the info @SniperAlleyPhot! Not good. Not at all https://t.co/o1Pgt5IBaF pic.twitter.com/odi3WLEIJ1

— Dragan Bursać (@dijalekticar) August 15, 2023