The Man Who Perks Up A Nation Every Day
Every morning, nearly 200,000 people in Serbia wake up to one political commentator. In a landscape that is cluttered with colourful characters, this man can command more attention than most political editors and his satirical slant on Serbia’s political shenanigans is more likely to be shared over email and coffee.
Yet this character choses not to wield his power to benefit any particular political party (despite their requests for his support). He prefers to remain as partial as any one in his position can be as he keeps his eyes peeled for what is most relevant – and funny – every day.
While his work is known to so many, few would recognise him if they passed him on the street. And he quite likes it that way. He is the much-admired political cartoonist for Blic newspaper.His name is Marko Somborac.
Why We Should Care About Pussy Riot
Friday was not a good day for Russian civil society. On just one day, the country’s increasingly conservative agenda and authoritarian forces orchestrated three excessive incursions on civil rights, equality and freedom of expression.
The most prominent among these worrying incidents was the harsh sentence handed down in the show trial against Russian punk band Pussy Riot. The weight of the system was brought down on the heads of three young Russian women after they dared to protest against Putin’s escalating influence over state, religion and the legislature.
On the same day, Madonna was hit with a multi-million pound law suit for ‘morally damaging’ the sensitive people of St Petersburg, and a Moscow court upheld a ban on Gay Pride Parades in the city… for the next one hundred years.
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.
