Post-War Reconciliation: Screening of Bosnian Film "Pretty Village"
The documentary "Pretty Village" is more than a film about one Bosnian village. Its stories can be universally recognized in any society torn apart by conflict.
The film documents the destruction of innocence in Pervanic’s village of Kevljani in northern Bosnia during the 1992-95 war. It questions whether it’s possible to achieve true peace and reconciliation in the aftermath of devastation and torture that pitted neighbor against neighbor and created cauldrons of abuse like the notorious Omarska concentration camp. Images of skeletal men filmed in August 1992 produced some of the war’s most indelible images.
Pervanic and his brother were among the survivors of Omarska, where thousands were held and hundreds died. Some of them returned to their village to try to rebuild their lives despite the fact that they do not feel welcome.
The screening of the production was followed by a panel discussion with protagonist and producer Kemal Pervanic about the film’s emblematic story of a society torn apart by conflict.
Speakers
Kemal Pervanic
Film Producer and Human Rights Activist
Ivana Cvetkovic Bajrovic
National Endowment for Democracy
Elizabeth A. “Lili” Cole
USIP Senior Program Officer
Renata Stuebner, Moderator
USIP Senior Program Specialist
