Regarding the information released in the media about the alleged screening of the Serbian film "Heroes of Halyard" at the Sarajevo Film Festival, the SFF spokesperson Andrijana Copf stated, "in order to objectively inform the public, that the said film was not shown at the festival, but only excerpts were shown of the projects that are still in production.
- We emphasize that the mentioned content was not agreed upon and that the Sarajevo Film Festival will not allow its name to be used for the promotion of historical revisionism of any kind - stated Copf.
The organizers of the SFF subsequently issued a statement for the media "with the aim of objectively informing the public and establishing the facts about the events of Tuesday, August 15, at the industry forum of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival."
The press release reads as follows:
As part of a business presentation by Telekom Srbija at the festival's industry forum, among their other new projects, an upcoming film still in post-production – "Heroes of Halyard" – was announced.
Responsibility of Telekom Srbija
Basic information about the project was provided, and three excerpts of filmed material were shown to around 70 attendees. The content of the presentation was under the sole responsibility of Telekom Srbija.
Up until now, we have communicated with all partners in professional trust regarding the material they would present. The content of this project was never mentioned. It is evident that this supposititious revisionist content has breached that trust.
Preventing similar situations
We accept responsibility for this inappropriate content and understand the negative comments from the public.
It has been decided that starting from the next Festival, all presentations at the Sarajevo Film Festival, including industry ones, will undergo selection by the Festival's programmers. This was not the case previously, as similar business entities in this sector were free to present their work. Additionally, within the organization, measures will be taken to prevent similar situations from recurring.
The Sarajevo Film Festival will not allow itself to be used for the promotion of historical revisionism of any kind.