| Independents for the Truth
The project Independents for the Truth was started by B92 Editor-in-Chief
and CEO Veran
Matic, within a more comprehensive project that deals with the
legacy of Serbia’s past and includes various publications Samizdat
B92, conferences,
public
debates and other activities.
From its very outset in 1994, B92 has been one of the best producers
of documentary projects that have been awarded by many prestigious
international festivals and television companies. It became clear
that to broadcast the proceedings from war crimes trials and documentaries
by foreign producers was not enough, because these were readily
and easily discredited in a xenophobic environment that was not
prepared to face the legacy of its past. Local production was always
going to be more persuasive and, since B92 commanded a high level
of credibility and respect among the Serbian citizenry, as well
as an unblemished positive image in other countries of the former
Yugoslavia, it was only natural to start the project Independents
for the Truth.
The project is mainly focused on individual crimes and their elucidation
– unveiling the perpetrators and identifying the victims and acquainting
the general public with crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing,
manipulations and lies, theft and destruction that took place during
the wars in the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1999. Some documentaries,
such as Abduction
by Mladen Markov and Jasna Jankovic, directly set off trials against
individuals that were identified as the perpetrators of war crimes
in the footage. The teams that produce these documentaries are made
of journalists, NGO activists and production crews that have amassed
a vast amount of professional and war-time experience. Whenever
possible, the teams are multi-ethnic in order to provide a maximum
amount of credibility for the documentaries.
The practice has also been to co-produce documentaries with teams
that were able to do a better job than B92 could on its own. An
example is the documentary about the Lora prison in Split (Croatia),
filmed in co-operation with Faktum
from Zagreb or the crimes in Suva Reka filmed and produced in co-operation
with TV Koha Vision
from Pristina. The regional approach was not only used in the production
phase, but also in presenting the films to the public through screenings
and discussions, TV broadcasts and debates and when including them
in educational programmes. In Serbia the documentaries were screened
on TV B92 and other television stations that are part of the Association
of Independent Electronic Media.
A list of documentaries that have been produced so far:
• Abduction
– authors: Jasna Jankovic and Mladen Markov
• Lora
– author: Nenad Puhovski, co-production with Factum / Zagreb
• Suva Reka
– co-production with Koha Vision / Priština
• Operation Dubrovnik – co-production with Arhitel, directed by:
Goran Kovacic
• Ethnically
Clean – directed by: Janko Baljak
• The
Anatomy of Pain – Janko Baljak
• The Anatomy of Pain II – Janko Baljak
• When you burn, burn it better – directed by: Ivan Andrijanic/
Ivan Stefanovic
Awarded by the European Culture Foundation at the film festival
in Kosice, Slovakia
• Serbia in a Garbage Container – directed by: Janko Baljak
• The Mob Doesn’t Kill on Easter – a reconstruction of the assassination
of prominent journalist and newspaper owner Slavko Curuvija
• Memento 26 – on Operation Flash, Author: Drago Hedl
• Serbia
– Year Zero, Author: Goran Markovic, international co-production
Serial Films:
• Who Killed Ante
Markovic? – the destruction of the Yugoslav economy, 10 episodes
• All that Folk – 8 episodes
• Strictly Confidential
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