Pretty Village - film production update

Kemal Pervanic's school class: the war changed everything.
'My mixed school class of Serbs and Muslims. We all looked the same.'

Always good to hear from Kemal Pervanic about his brilliant film Pretty Village that was previewed at the Front Line Club in September. Kemal has just managed to raise funds to finish off production. Really hope that it is accepted in New York - see below, in the message from Kemal.






 He writes:

Picture grading, which will greatly enhance the archived footage used, is scheduled to be competed early next week. Tom is writing the original score and will asemble a group of musicians to record it by the end of April, possibly even sooner. Alan will then follow with sound mix and sound design. The film should be completed by the middle of May.
It is still being considered for Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York. I hope it is selected as it could be the breakthrough it deserves. Soon we'll apply to enter several other film festivals.

Kemal is a long-standing friend of Bridging Arts, and helped us get our very first project Crimson Harvest off the ground.

Pretty Village - film by Kemal Pervanic - races towards final production

White House: notorious torture chamber at Omarska concentration camp

An update from Kemal Pervanic, who is currently fundraising for final production costs for his extraordinary film Pretty Village.  The film tells the harrowing story of the 1992 Kevljani massacre in Bosnia and its continuing effect on people's lives there. Kemal himself is a survivor of the notorious concentration camp, Omarska, where former neighbours and teachers were among his guards.
It's not too late to support him.... here's his fundraising page. Raising money for this film has been a long and tough struggle.

Kemal is an old friend of Bridging Arts. He worked with us on Crimson Harvest (paintings by Bosnian Serb artist Pero Mandic)  and  Srebrenica Now  - photographs marking the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica in 2005.

Kemal writes about his latest trip to his home village:

 "I just returned from another trip to the Pretty Village. I was there for the New Year. It was very different from the New Year’s celebration which took place on the eve of 1992 when a lot of young people danced and sang. It was very quiet apart from some local Serbs discharging remaining reserves of ammo from the last war. Apart from them it was two kids born in the 21st century who were making all the noise by setting off probably Chinese made fireworks. For a war survivor it was not a welcoming noise either. Kasim and I retired to bed without the customary ‘Happy New Year’ greeting.

"Pretty Village has not seen a happy New Year’s eve since 31 December 1991. The curse of the living is never being able to forget the nightmare they survived. During this trip I made separate visits to Jasmin and his mother Besima. Jasmin gets on with his life. He has a wife and two beautiful kids to look after. He was keen to see the latest film cut. His mother Besima was not so excited. She said she does not want to be reminded of her wartime again. She just passed the 80th birthday mark. Her murdered son Dzevad would celebrate his 53rd birthday, if he was still alive. This makes all the more important, and all the more remarkable, her testimony which we recorded impromptu when we just intended to take a still picture of the few remaining pictures of Dzevad which she keeps displayed in her vitrine.

"I am so pleased now that I felt no guilt when I acted as a filmmaker who tried to seize a moment which invitingly presented itself rather than a boy from the village and a contemporary of her son Jasmin, to ask to film her on camera. Our filming on that January day in 2013, several hours before we had to go and catch our flight back to the UK, has turned to serve many different functions. Most importantly it became her public testimonial and tribute to her murdered son. It became a cry for peace where no mothers want to see their sons murdered in the name of religion, political or economic conquest, or history.

"It was her first, and I believe last, outpouring of grief which continues to serve a great purpose. Through our presence and our camera we provided the acknowledgment that the justice system and politicians constantly fail to address. Our unintended filming that day performed an unforgettable deed. On the evening I visited Besima this time she was radiating with positive energy. Every war story is difficult to listen to, but the story of a bereaved mother forever remains an iconic story of every war. It remains an unfulfilled cry for peace.

"Let’s hope that Bosnia will not witness future filmmakers making a film about another Pretty Village in Bosnia based on its tragic past. Let’s hope that our Pretty Vilage film serves as an inspiration to generations of young people everywhere to uphold the value of peace. Let’s hope that the future of Bosnia does not have to tell new Besima stories.

"The more I work on this film, the more I keep visiting those featured in the film, the more I understand its value and its potential to teach us to always try harder at being better persons. Perhaps then we will hear fewer stories such as Besima’s."

Pretty Village - film by Kemal Pervanic

A truly impressive and moving film last night at the Frontline Club, London - marking the end of several years' hard work by Kemal Pervanic.  Pretty Village is directed by David Evans and tells the harrowing story of the 1992 Kevljani massacre in Bosnia and its continuing effect on people's lives there. Kemal himself is a survivor of the notorious concentration camp, Omarska, where among his guards were former neighbours and teachers.

Kemal Pervanic, centre, at a discussion at the FrontLine Club chaired by Ed Vulliamy after the screening of Pretty Village

In May 1992, 6,000 Bosnian Muslim men, women and children were detained, tortured and raped in the cluster of villages around Kevljani. Many of these Bosniak were killed and 1,200 are still missing. In 2000 the first Bosnian survivors returned to Kevljani, where  they started to rebuild their homes and lives. Most Serb neighbours remain silent about the past and continue to fight against an initiative to erect a memorial even after the discovery of mass graves in the village.

In Pretty Village, Kemal Pervanic returns to his village. In one of the film's most extraordinary moments, in a school corridor he intercepts his former Maths teacher, who interrogated him in Omarska,  and asks him about what happened. Incredibly, a conversation ensures  - a discussion about events that are almost beyond belief.

Kemal helped with the very first Bridging Arts project, Crimson Harvest, which brought the work of Bosnian Serb artist Pero Mandic to the UK. He also helped to develop Srebrenica Now, showing photographs of Bosnian Muslims and Serbs living in Srebrenica ten years after the genocide.

Having the personal courage to confront these nightmares is inspiring to say the very least.