[nettime-see] Je li tko gledao prvo emitiranje videolleters-a? (pressrelease:Videoletters to reconcile war-torn Balkans)

[zeljko blace <zblace@mi2.hr>]

Prije par dana saznao sam za projekt http://www.videoletters.net/
i nazalost prvo emitiranje u Hrvatskoj je odgodjeno za tjedan dana.

Je li tko gledao prvo emitiranje videolleters-a u drugim drzavama u 
regiji? Bas me zanimaju prve impresije...



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pressrelease: Videoletters to reconcile war-torn Balkans

Videoletters to reconcile war-torn Balkans

World premiere on April 2 of a unique documentary series allowing former 
friends and neighbours separated by the wars in the Balkans to talk with 
each other again through videoletters. The series will be broadcasted 
simultaneously from April to June by seven public TV channels from all 
the countries of the Former Yugoslavia, a unique cooperation at this 
level since the end of the 1990s wars.
Busses equipped with internet connections and webcams will travel 
through the Former Yugoslavia to allow people to make a videoletter to 
their former friends. A special interactive internet site to be launched 
on April 2 will give the opportunity to load your own videoletter and 
search for lost friends.

A unique documentary series allowing former friends, colleagues and 
neighbours separated by the wars in the Former Yugoslavia to talk with 
each other again through harrowing videoletters will have its first 
broadcast on April 7 2005. The first episode of the series, directed by 
Dutch filmmakers Katarina Rejger and Eric van den Broek, will then be 
shown simultaneously on TV channels from all the countries of the Former 
Yugoslavia: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, 
Macedonia, Slovenia as well as by Kosovo. It is the first time since the 
bloody wars in the Balkans that these channels agreed to such an 
extensive cooperation. In each of the 20 episodes of the series, friends 
who have not spoken to each other since or because of the wars, exchange 
emotional videoletters, seeking to renew contact and restore trust. Some 
express sadness or anger, some confess their guilt, some put an end to 
rumours, fears and suspicions. After this exchange most of the people 
met face to face again, often for the first time since the war.

Rejger and Van den Broek, who received worldwide praise for an earlier 
documentary about the Serb student movement Otpor, conceived this five 
year project as a tool to reconnect people. “During our earlier filming 
in the region, we noticed that there was an invisible barrier between 
the people from the different communities. One-time friends hated each 
other, were angry, felt betrayed, abandoned and very afraid. Instead of 
telling their friends how they felt, they told us,” Rejger and Van den 
Broek recall. “We wanted to force them to break the silence, to go 
beyond the rumours and the lies and to address their one-time friends 
directly so they would not live on hating each other”. The series, to be 
broadcasted for the first time in the Former Yugoslavia, is the heart of 
a larger project devoloped by Rejger & van den Broek as a tool for 
reconciliation and conflict-resolution in post war countries all over 
the world.
Two examples of stories featured in Videoletters

Emil and Sasa, two young Bosnians who were best friends before the war, 
meet again after years of silence. Emir, a Bosnian Muslim had to flee 
during the conflict whilst Sasa, a Serb, had to join the Bosnian Serb 
army. Torn apart by rumours that Sasa had committed war crimes, the two 
never spoke with each other until they started to exchange videoletters 
that put an end to mistrust.

Vlada lives in Belgrade and Ivica in Zagreb. They used to spend the 
summers together. Their parents were friends but since the war, they do 
not have any contact anymore. Videoletters brings them back together and 
shows that their friendship is still intact despite the fights between 
Serbs and Croats in the 1990s.
A comprehensive reconciliation project

Next to the simultaneous broadcast in all countries from the Former 
Yugoslavia, special busses equipped with internet connections and 
webcams will crisscross the region to allow people to make their own 
videoletters for a lost friend. Permanent internet counters will be set 
up for the same purpose. The access will be free of charge.

A special internet site will also be launched enabling people to post 
their videoletters and search for their lost friend.

A special helpline for people experiencing strong emotions or traumas 
after seeing the videoletters will be accessible after every broadcast.

Talk shows and debates about truth and reconciliation will be 
broadcasted on radio and tv following each episode.

Note for the media: A gala premiere will take place on April 2 in Cafe 
Sur Dayton, close to Sarajevo. Katarina Rejger and Eric van den Broek as 
well as the main characters of the series will attend. Representatives 
from the RTV channels to Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, 
Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and from several goverments 
and international organisations (The Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The British Embassy 
Belgrade, Press Now, Open Society Institute, Care Netherlands, Swiss 
Embassy Bosnia and Herzegovina, GTZ, XS4ALL) will also be present.
A special compilation of the series will be shown and the internet site 
will be officially launched. The evening will also include music and 
dancing. Media representatives are welcome to attend this Premiere. If 
you wish to attend please register before 22 March 2005 by sending an 
e-mail to rec@videoletters.net (mention media, name, and contact 
details) or take contact with press officers in the following countries:
For more information on the Videoletters project or interview requests 
Videoletters Head Office Amsterdam

Jurrien Rood tel.: +31.6.1728.8539 e-mail: j.rood@videoletters.net

In Skopje: +389/23177125
In Ljubljana / Zagreb: +385/98704497
In Sarajevo: +387/61733007
In Pogdorica: +38569/016047
In Pristina: tel.: +377/44145407
In Belgrade: +381/113340464

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