Serbian film Heroes Of Halyard, a historical epic set in the final days of World War II, made a name for itself at the Sarajevo Film Festival earlier this year through their CineLink forum. Although the film was not yet completed, and only clips were shown, it’s already run headlong into a mountain of controversy.
From director Radoš Bajić, the movie follows a group of Serbian fighters attempting to rescue American airmen being held in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. The plan, Operation Halyard, was orchestrated by America’s OSS, was led by Draža Mihailović, and resulted in over 500 soldiers and airmen being rescued, becoming the largest airman rescue operation in history. The movie is structured around the Mihailović brothers, one agreeing with the nationalists, one with the communists, and the youngest in between.
As Hollywood Reporter points out, the intention behind screening the clips was to give a sense of how big the film was, as it now stands as one of the most ambitious projects in the region. However, the film was accused of glorifying nationalist groups, and the mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, labeled it “revisionist” while demanding the festival distance itself from the project altogether. She tweeted that the film resulted in “immeasurable damage to the festival and the City of Sarajevo.”
Similarly, she also connected Mihailović to Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadzic. The two were Bosnian Serb leaders who were found guilty of both genocide and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian War that raged through the 90s. Due to the connection of both groups calling themselves Chetniks, a term that can be used for the specific group of soldiers, she’s not the first to highlight the similarity.
The controversy surrounding the film ties in heavily to current debates within the Balkans, with differing interpretations of Serbian history being a prominent point for contention.
Lieutenant Colonel John Capello, a U.S. Air Force veteran, served as a consultant on the film. He said that “the film is really a story of the civil war, the story of communities torn apart, families torn apart,” while also going on to say that the film wasn’t meant to evoke the setting of the ’90s, with the U.S. and Serbia at odds, but rather show off the years of strong diplomatic relations between the regions.
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