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8000 men and children were murdered in what was supposed to be a United Nations safe zone over twenty years ago. To this day, Srebrenica is the only incident within a three year-long bloody campaign that is classified as genocide. This film argues that there were many such instances in the Bosnian war which must be acknowledged. Produced by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, ‘Forgotten Genocide’ lays bare the truths long left unspoken. ‘Forgotten Genocide’ will be released on 13 July.
Both moving and informative the documentary uses archival footage of the war to illustrate the oft-forgotten years of the early to mid ’90s when nearly 100,000 Bosnian lives were lost, women were raped and children were sent to concentration camps. Complete with personal accounts from survivors, the testimonies of prisoners and interviews with the likes of Murat Tahirovic – president of the Association of Witnesses and Victims of Genocide – a compelling but devastating picture is painted.
The film traces the beginnings of the war from the collapse of former Yugoslavia and follows the intentioned killing of civilians and pillaging of land using expert testimony to argue that the entirety of the war constitutes genocide. Director Assed Baig describes it as ‘an important opportunity to remember and recognise a truly tragic history that has never been paid its due respect.’
Arzu Merali – Producer, Co-Founder and Head of Research at IHRC
Assed Baig – Director, currently working as an investigative reporter for channel 4 news
Demir Mahmutcehajic – Born in 1976. Arrived to the UK in 1994 as a refugee. From 1997 until 2004 was an IHRC activist. Returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2004. From 2005 until 2010 was active in civil rights movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2011 he returned to his hometown of Stolac (southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina) where he started his formal political activism. Elected member of Municipality of Stolac Council from 2012. Elected president of Stolac branch of Socialdemocratic party of Bosnia and Herzegovina in May, 2015.
Credits:
Director: Assed Baig
Assistant producer: Selma Fisekovic
Translator: Amra Suljic
Camera: Darrell Williams and Turab Shah
Editor: Dhruv Shah
Graphics: Ibrahim Sadikovic
Researcher: Thania Uddin
Narrator: Henrietta Meire
Archive Footage: Hayat TV, Radio televizija Tuzlanskog kantona.
Producer: Arzu Merali
Composer: Kevin MacLeod
