You see, certain films are for adults and adults only and A Serbian Film has never professed to fitting any other bill than that.īefore we go any further, I shall slip on my kit gloves, as the following appraisal needs to be handled with a great deal of sensitivity. There have been occasions when I have felt physically sick and would consider that as part of the process. Many of my life lessons have been learned this way and, having watched leagues of exploitation flicks over the course of my filmic tenure, I’ve rubbed shoulders with all manner of reprobates during that time. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that film is there to do more than simply tickle those pleasure nodes and also has the ability to challenge its audience. Already aware that it tackles topics that don’t exactly make for a joyful viewing experience, I have done so with great trepidation, and mindful of the fact that, once experienced, my primary emotion was likely to be shame. It has taken me five years to pluck up the resolve to find out what all the fuss is about and isn’t a task I have undertaken lightly. Banned in many countries and subjected to 19 minutes of cuts in the United States before achieving an NC-17 rating, A Serbian Film is easily the most controversial piece of modern storytelling ever committed to celluloid and, to many, deemed utterly indefensible. There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not certain films should have been made in the first place and right at the top of this agenda is a certain piece of exploitation from first time Serbian director Srban Spasojević. But precious little has actually managed to prise open my maw and steal the breath from my lungs. Certain works have burrowed beneath my skin, certain images become lodged in my hippocampus, certain experiences left me feeling dirty. We also condemn the fact that behaviour such as that shown by the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Barcelona appears to be taking us back to times of censorship limitations on freedom of expression and cultural programming that we sincerely believed belonged to the past.I have been watching horror movies for most of my adult life and rarely am I left shocked. We must also add that the film has won prestigious awards including three at Montreal (Best Film Gold Award for Best European Film and Most Innovative Film) the Audience Award at the Fantasporto Festival in Oporto (less than a week ago) and the Best Screenplay Award at the FIPRESCI Festival in Serbia. All of this without anyone, to date, having taken legal steps of any kind against the film, those responsible for it or its programmers. A Serbian Film has also enjoyed screening at the two most prestigious film markets in the world: Cannes, and the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California. Over and above our surprise at pinning responsibility of this kind on a cultural programmer, and not on those theoretically responsible for the content in question (the director and the producers, if anyone at all), we wish to recall, in addition to our support of Ángel Sala, that the film has been screened over the last twelve months in festivals in Brussels, Montreal, London, Oporto, Austin, San Francisco, Toronto, Sofia, Hamburg, Helsinki, Puchon (South Korea), Ravenna and Stockholm, among others. We, the undersigned, directors of Spanish film festivals, wish, in view of the leak to the press published this weekend, to state our surprise at the legal action taken against Ángel Sala, director of the Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia, for having included in the 2010 programme of the said event, at sessions for adults only, A Serbian Film, which it is claimed contains violent, pornographic scenes conflicting with the rights of the child. distribution.Ĭheck back with indieWIRE for more on this story.īelow find the letter backing the director of the Sitges Festival: The film has been acquired by Philadelphia-based Invincible Pictures for U.S.
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