The DwP Program provoked dialogue among all generations from all communities in the region, while it empowered younger generations to ask questions and look for answers about the Past from professionals in this field during workshops, discussions, special screenings and master classes. Movies in this program addressed the need to listen and face personal accounts from all sides. Film is seen as an ideal medium for this, because it can provoce dialogue which underlines the importance of dealing with the past, so that societies in the Western Balkan Region can process past events and their impact on their societies during and after the conflicts.
Alongside the film program the Sarajevo Film Festival presented also the True story market a unique event that connects filmmakers with organizations that are researching and documenting the wars in the Western Balkan region.
Challenge history alumni joined a bigger group of youth activists who were organized by other organizations all across the region and engaged into dialogue about the past.
Some statements from the participants:
„Movies like this can be misunderstood and can bring conflict to the viewers if not understood correctly. The thing that changed the way movies were interpreted by young people was the conversation between them. Bringing their own personal opinion and perspectives and augmenting between each other in our free time is what made us understand movies in the right way. Besides dealing with the past we have got a chance to find out about movie making.“
“For the past couple of days I had the opportunity to participate in the Dealing with the Past “program which gave me the chance to discover past and past events through work of amazing cinematography. It was full of emotions and it really made us think about what had actually happen. Seeing and listening to personal stories was quite the experience. “
“The program dealing with the past through camera lenses had a better impact on me then workshops on which I had participated previously. Every film which was a part of the program provided to us a different perspective and a different story with a focus on past events.”
More detailed personal reflection will be published on the dwp-balkan.org web page in the comming weeks.
