Stolen Kosovo
| Stolen Kosovo | |
|---|---|
 Stolen Kosovo poster | |
| Directed by | Václav Dvořák |
| Written by | Václav Dvořák |
| Produced by | Aleš Bednář |
Release date |
|
Running time | 57 minutes |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Languages | Czech Serbian Albanian |
Stolen Kosovo (Czech: Uloupené Kosovo; Serbian: Украдено Косово, romanized: Ukradeno Kosovo) is a 2008 Czech documentary film by director Václav Dvořák and producer Aleš Bednář about events during and following the Kosovo War.
Plot
The documentary describes the situation in Kosovo, first in a short overview of the history of the area, followed by the 1990s conflicts and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and ending with the situation after the Kosovo War. The documentary focuses on 1990s in the time of Slobodan Milošević's rule as well as on numerous interviews of Albanian separatists and Serbian civilians. There were often very brutal scenes. Dvořák often spoke negatively against the Western Powers in the film, especially the Kosovo Force, comparing it to the Munich Agreement.
Broadcasting and controversy
Although the Czech Television (ČT) had been one of the sponsors of the documentary, providing the production with capacities such as editing rooms,[1] it delayed broadcasting it several times, claiming the documentary was "unbalanced" and marked with "pro-Serbian bias",[2] and so "the tone of the documentary could cause negative emotions."[3] Dvořák responded that the same could be said for "Holocaust documentaries, where the Nazi Germany 'side' and 'views' were also appropriately ignored".[3] Václav Dvořák is the chairman of the civic association Friends of Serbs in Kosovo[4] and questions the officially accepted number of victims of the Srebrenica massacre.[5][6]
The documentary producer, Aleš Bednář, additionally stated that it wasn't ruled out that some viewers could feel it was "unbalanced", but only because they had been "lopsidedly informed about Balkan conflicts through years, above all by television, but by other media as well."[7]
Its first broadcasting, scheduled for 17 March 2008, on the 4th anniversary of the ethnic clashes in Kosovo in 2004, was postponed until April, and it was eventually broadcast with a follow-up show analyzing the Kosovo conflict from the point of view of the Kosovo Albanians. The creators of the documentary published it on YouTube, where it is still available as of June 2015.
Due to the postponement of the allegedly promised premiere date,[8] the film was given the title of "dissident" by the ČT.[9] On 17 February 2009, the first anniversary since the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, the Radio Television of Serbia aired Stolen Kosovo at 21:00 Central European Time on its RTS1 channel, preceded by an interview with the director.
The film was criticized for only covering atrocities committed against Serbs such as by the Kosovo Liberation Army, while not doing the same for atrocities committed by the Serbian army, Kosovo Serbs and Bosnian Serbs against Kosovar Albanians, Croats and Bosniaks.[10][9]
References
- ↑ Aust, ONDŘEJ (29 May 2008). "ČT odmítla dokument o Kosovu | Česko". Lidové noviny. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Uloupené Kosovo - iVysílání | Česká televize (in Czech), retrieved 13 March 2024
- 1 2 "Czech Documentary: "Stolen Kosovo" « What Do You Believe?". 13 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ↑ "Mgr. Václav Dvořák - předseda". Kosovoonline. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Ševela, Vladimír (2 April 2014). "Masakr v Srebrenici byl podfuk, znělo Sněmovnou". Echo24.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Čulík, Jan (25 October 2012). "K masakru ve Srebrenici došlo". Britské listy. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Stošić, Milan (30 May 2008). "Ukradeno Kosovo nije uravnoteženo". Danas. Archived from the original on 1 June 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "ČT odmítla dokument o Kosovu | Domov". Lidovky.cz (in Czech). 29 May 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- 1 2 Švéda, Josef (14 May 2008). "Uloupené Kosovo: Nesnesitelně špatný dokument". legacy.blisty.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ↑ Fridrich, Milan (10 June 2008). "Uloupené Kosovo? Uloupená soudnost". ČT24 (in Czech). Archived from the original on 27 July 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
External links