CONVERSATIONS WITH EMERGING BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILMMAKERS: REFIK HODZIC

By Amra Turalic

Refik Hodžić was born in Prijedor, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1972. In addition to his work as a broadcast journalist, during his rich professional life he worked as a spokesperson for United Nations missions in Bosnia and East Timor, Outreach Coordinator for Bosnia-Herzegovina on behalf of International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), head of Public Information and Outreach for the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Currently, Hodžić is working as the Spokesperson for ICTY.

Hodžić is also a founder of XY Films, an independent film production company in Sarajevo specializing in documentary films and television programs on war crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. His documentary film "Justice Unseen" was shown at the Third Annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF™) in 2006 and his second film, "Statement 710399" will be screened at this year's BHFF™. The film “I See You My Friend”, produced by XY Films, for which Hodžić wrote the script, won the Audience Award for the Best Documentary at BHFF in 2006.

What drew you to documentary filmmaking in the first place? Were you able to draw on your previous experience in journalism?

In March 2004 I resigned from ICTY and decided to make a documentary about the huge gap that existed between ICTY and its natural constituency – the people in former Yugoslavia, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina. This came as a result of endless conversations on the subject with my two friends, Aldin Arnautović and Ćazim Dervišević. We had something to say, we had this urge to expose a topic we felt was being ignored. At the same time, we thought that the form of a documentary would allow us to say it in the way we wanted to, while reaching a large number of people. We were all journalists and knew what impact different forms of reporting had in terms of keeping a subject alive and relevant. Documentary film is the most powerful of all such forms. When we set about doing it, we realized that the journalistic experience helped us a great deal, although we did not know much about film making.

Your documentary, "Justice Unseen," examined whether International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) achieved what it was set up to do. What was your conclusion in 2004, when you completed this film, and how has this changed?

I wanted to make people think about the relationship between the Tribunal and the people to which it was delivering justice - both the people in the Tribunal and those who had expectations from it. I resigned because I was frustrated with the obvious lack of understanding by the senior ICTY officials of the direct impact it had on people’s lives in Bosnia, and, more importantly, its long term impact on the social reconstruction of a country ravaged by genocide and mass atrocities.
The film was our attempt to open a debate on the issue, to rattle the ICTY bureaucracy into thinking about how it can improve its communication with the people from communities where crimes were committed who made it to ICTY courtrooms. The film was the harshest criticism of the Tribunal’s failure to engage with the people, but not a criticism of its mission and achievements.
I still stand behind all the assertions made in the film, and nothing has changed in my mind regarding this failure. This is why I decided to try again by working from the inside the institution. From my current position of ICTY spokesman I am trying to improve this communication, especially when it comes to the discussion on the importance of ICTY’s legacy. Certain things have changed since I made ‘Justice Unseen’, but we’re still long way from erasing the gap.


Scene from “Justice Unseen”

Tell me about your inspiration for the "Statement 710399."  
The film was inspired by the story discovered in the footnotes of an expert report that was commissioned by the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor and dealt with the genocide in Srebrenica. My good friend Emir Suljagić, a journalist who spent years covering the work of ICTY, came across the story of four men who survived a massacre during the Srebrenica genocide and were later helped by a Serb family, only to be captured again and disappear. We immediately saw it as a remarkable story of humanity amidst the most horrific crimes and a unique situation in which these were the only victims of the genocide we knew of, whose names were recorded in official documents of the Serb authorities.


Scene from “Statement 710399”

In your films, "Statement 710399" and the "Justice Unseen," I see a common theme of search for justice and never being able to achieve it. Is this a reflection of your work at ICTY or your overall philosophy? Is there justice for people from Bosnia and Herzegovina who were victimized during the recent aggression and their families?
 
This is a very difficult question for me to answer. Sometimes, when I listen to the account of victims about the unimaginable cruelty, brutality and heartlessness of those who committed war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I catch myself thinking that human kind has not developed adequate mechanisms for providing justice for such crimes.
What is the adequate punishment for somebody who forces one emaciated camp prisoner kill another and laughs while watching it? What is the adequate punishment for somebody who orders a gang rape of a 12-year old girl and takes part in it? I have not come across anybody, no judge, no theoretician of law, no philosopher who could answer these questions for me.
But we try. The worst possible course of action would be to accept impunity and stop searching for these answers.

Tell me a little about the process of filming and developing the storylines for "Statement 710399" and "Justice Unseen." 

“Justice Unseen” was an analysis. We knew exactly who from ICTY we wanted to interview and we knew, more or less, what the situation was in the communities we wanted to depict. At the same time, we needed to portray what happened in those two communities without having the horror of the crimes cloud the most important issue – ICTY’s responsibility to communicate with its constituents. This meant that we were able to adhere to the original idea throughout the development of the storyline, from the moment we defined the idea to the editing script phase.
The situation with the ‘Statement 710399’ was completely opposite. We set out with the idea of locating the families of the missing men and the Serb family which helped them, in order to reconstruct the story of their disappearance. However, as we filmed, we learned about the situation in which all of them live today, the fact that those who interrogated them were free men today and worked for the government, that the Serb family lives under constant harassment from their neighbors for having helped ‘the enemy.’ The storyline developed in a completely different direction, so the film ended up being about the present state of the Bosnian society - a society in which victims remain powerless, while perpetrators remain powerful and untouchable.

What are the most compelling aspects about working with the victims and survivors? In the case of "Statement 710399," you worked with the families of the young men who were missing. Were they transformed by the experience of filming this documentary?

Of course they were. I am still troubled by the fact that they did not see this experience as having anything to do with the film. They wanted to find out what happened to their loved ones. They were not interested in the film, the cameras, it was all marginal to them. And the fact that we were unable to find out what happened to the four of them left me with an immense feeling of guilt towards the families. I felt as if we parachuted into their lives, offered them false hope and left them utterly disappointed, cheated. They don’t see it that way, and were grateful to us for bringing the story into the focus of the public and for pursuing it to the end. But I can’t get rid of this feeling of being responsible for giving them hope only to have it shattered again. At the same time, I am thankful for having these people as friends. I am thankful for this experience. Working with people who suffered as much as they have will always change you, it will make you realize the importance of certain things we take for granted. 

Where have you screened "Statement 710399" and where do you plan to have it screened?  

The film was screened at various festivals and venues in Europe and the United States, it even made it to a film festival in Doha, Qatar. Most importantly, it was screened on television in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the Sarajevo Film Festival. I say most importantly because the film was made primarily for the Bosnian audience. That is why to me personally the highlight is the screening in the village of Liplje, in eastern Bosnia, populated by those who returned to their homes - most of them survived the Srebrenica genocide. The film was screened as the first cultural event in their newly rebuilt community center - this meant a great deal to me and my colleagues. It was our Cannes.  

What role do the documentary films play and can play in the search for justice as well as reconciliation and peace building? 

Documentary films can be a very powerful catalyst to initiate public debates on important issues. We can see that more and more high-budget, high-production documentary films are being made to address issues of global importance. They attract big audiences and have a long lifespan, which makes them very effective in focusing public attention on certain issues. The issues of justice and peace building are no exception to this. I would like to think that we make such films.

What projects do you have planned in the near- and long-term?

I am developing an idea about a documentary, which would focus on the view of the United States that exists in the ‘outposts of the Great American Empire’ such as Bosnia. If it comes to fruition, it would be a documentary filmed during the presidential campaign next year.
My colleagues from XY Films are also actively working on several projects, including a television series on the legacy of war crimes in Bosnian communities and a gripping documentary that examines the consequences of war on people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Where do you see yourself in the future? Will you continue to produce documentary films with focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina?

I hope to be involved in filmmaking in some way, be it through documentaries or other forms.

In your opinion, what is the status of documentary filmmaking in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Where do you see its future?

Documentary filmmaking in Bosnia and Herzegovina has exploded in the last few years. Apart from the established authors who continue to produce fantastic work, there are incredibly talented newcomers like Džemal Sabic, Danijela Majstorović and others. There are guerilla filmmakers, outside of the establishment, producing films on small budgets with digital technology that are making big impact.
My hope is that institutions will develop in the country that will help these young people to gain access to the resources and expertise, which would further encourage proliferation of documentary films. Currently, such institutions either don’t exist or aren’t accessible to those outside the small circle of established filmmakers. I hope this will change in near future.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

I am not sure I can give them any advice apart from making sure that they completely believe in what their film is saying to the audience.

What lessons, if any, can other filmmakers gain from Bosnian cinematography?

Story is everything. Having big bucks for production is great, but only a great story well told makes a good film. Bosnian filmmakers have shown how great films can be made on small budgets when the story works and creativity is the primary engine of the film production.