FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| FILM A View of Bosnia with Welcome to Sarajevo The world's governments once again stand transfixed by the horrifying events in the former Yugoslavia, this time in Kosovo, Serbia. The time is perfect for a reminder of Bosnia's recent past to return to Calgary courtesy of a short documentary film by Arthur Kent. A View of Bosnia can viewed at the Plaza Theatre as a trailer to the new film Welcome to Sarajevo. Arthur Kent is driven by a desire to use film and television to bring important international news to North Americans. Kent created A View from Bosnia in 1992 after being fired by NBC, supposedly for refusing to cover the war in Bosnia due to safety issues. He bought a super-16mm camera to go into Bosnia alone to create a story about the events there. "I wanted to travel light and alone to cover what the war was really about," Kent explains from his home in London. "The film was shot over a period of three months. It is the result of two three-week shoots: one with the Bosnian Serbs and their Chetnik irregulars; the second with the combined Croat and Muslim forces." The film is a newsy, constructive description of the arrogance and sense of persecution of the Serbs, the strangeness of an immoral, total war waged by families and friends, and the confusion and fear of the refugees caught in the middle of the conflict. Its newsreel feel is deliberate. "The film was designed as an experiment in reviving the newsreel form, to show on the big screen what war looked like in Europe in the '90s," Kent states. The film is a superb trailer because it gives a sense of place and time for Welcome to Sarajevo. Kent ends his documentary with a list of the 32 journalists killed covering the war in Bosnia. When asked about the safety of journalists covering conflicts around the world, Kent relates his strong feelings about the state of the profession. In a controlled voice he says, "I am disappointed that those of my colleagues that continue to risk their lives about the really important stories in Indonesia, former Yugoslavia and Iraq are still having a hard time getting their material on the air. Meanwhile, limo-journalists are pumping out demeaning and despicable material on the White House scandal, which is, on the whole, unsubstantiated, unsourced, devoid of facts, and a waste of time. "It's good for ratings because it is sensational and salacious, but it is taking away from the news that can affect our lives and our world." Recent Serbian attacks on the Muslim residents of Kosovo have put the Balkans back in the news. Kent does not hesitate when asked to analyze the current situation, stating, "Western nations, in trying to deal with it, are making the same mistakes as six years ago due to their lack of resolve to deal with the Serbs." Always working to convince us that there is more important news than the state of our politicians' zippers, Kent is heading to Iraq to produce the first of six documentaries for PBS. |