Arts Could Suffer Under Serbia’s New Leadership
Culture and the arts in Serbia could suffer through lack of government support and a background of corruption, two of the nation’s foremost filmmakers have said. Esteemed actress Mirjana Karanović and controversial director Stevan Filipović are known across the Balkans for their strongly held opinions and an unflinching desire to express what others choose to ignore.
It takes more than bricks and mortar to build a nation and the value of art in building a more confident and rounded society should not be underestimated, Mirjana told Wild Rooster. “You can change everything outside: buildings, technology and fashion,’ she said. “You can build highways, even change how nature looks, but it is very difficult to change people inside. It is so hard to change their habits, change their ideas.
Scorpions Video Case Inspires Serbian Film
The Scorpions notorious Serbian paramilitary unit has inspired two of Serbia’s most prominent filmmakers to write A Good Wife, a film that is already picking up awards and plaudits even before shooting has wrapped.
Esteemed Serbian actress Mirjana Karanović (Grbavica/Esma’s Story) and out-spoken director Stevan Filipović (Skinning/Šišanje) have drawn from a well-known conviction of members of this unit to write a script that will put a personal spin on difficult issues in Serbia’s recent past.
“This story is based on the Scorpions case, where members of this special police unit killed six Bosniak civilians in the nineties and videotaped the crime,’ said Stevan, explaining the real-life inspiration for the script he co-wrote with Mirjana. “The tape later leaked, and they were arrested.
