Anja Ilić, Director of the Republika Srpska Audio-Visual Center, told SRNA that Lordan Zafranović’s film “The Golden Cut 42 – Children of Kozara” deals with a difficult and painful period in the history of the Serb people, one so horrific and dark that it is difficult for an ordinary person to confront such atrocities.
Ilić said that confronting this history is difficult, painful and traumatic, but also necessary.
“It is necessary so that we, as a people, can move forward and build healthy relations with everyone around us,” Ilić said.
She noted that this process of confronting the past is reflected in the films “Children of Kozara” and “Dara of Jasenovac,” released in 2021, adding that both works use a highly artistic form to mourn innocent victims without conveying a message of hatred or revenge.
“They attempt to explore the genesis of evil and what can lead one human being to commit such monstrous acts against others simply because they belong to a different religion or nationality,” Ilić said.
She added that the two films serve as a warning about what happened and seek to raise awareness among new generations so that such evil is never repeated.
“This evil did not emerge overnight. It was systematically prepared. It is important to preserve the memory of what happened so that new generations growing up today know about it,” Ilić emphasized.
Speaking from the perspective of an actress who was part of the cast of “Dara of Jasenovac” and participated in creating a work dealing with such a difficult subject, Ilić said that confronting these facts was far from easy.
“For an actor to portray all these events authentically through art, they have to experience them emotionally and personally confront the horrors their people endured. The suffering, pain and sorrow are immense, and the question is how much a human being can withstand, both mentally and physically,” Ilić said.
She expressed pride that the Republika Srpska Audio-Visual Center co-financed the production of the film and emphasized the importance of the participation of a local creative team.
“The Golden Cut 42 – Children of Kozara” deals with the suffering of the people of Kozara in the Jasenovac concentration camp system during World War II, focusing on Serb children who were separated from their parents during the 1942 offensive and deported to camps and other locations across the then Independent State of Croatia.
The film will be screened in Banja Luka on Saturday, October 3, while its production was supported by institutions of Republika Srpska and Serbia. Its premiere will take place in Belgrade tomorrow.
Source: RTRS
