Last night, Vienna hosted the Austrian premiere of the documentary film Jeni \u2013 a Little Light from the West, directed by Slobodan Simojlovi\u0107.<\/p>\n
Numerous prominent representatives of the Serbian community in Vienna attended the screening of the film dedicated to the Dutchwoman Jeni Ligtenberg, who was on a humanitarian mission in Pale during the last war in BiH.<\/p>\n
The film is based on the book Pale War Diary 1993-1995 written by Jeni Ligtenberg, and edited by academician Mirko \u0160o\u0161i\u0107.<\/p>\n
As a valuable and impartial testament of the war in BiH from the point of view of a Dutch pharmacist, the book served as inspiration for the documentary testifying to the humanity and great courage of Jeni Ligtenberg, who had come from Amsterdam in 1993 as a humanitarian to volunteer at the former Koran Military Hospital in Pale, where she had remained until 1995, selflessly offering help to all those needing it.<\/p>\n
The screening in Vienna was organized by the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Austria, the Republic of Srpska Cinematheque, the Isto\u010dno Sarajevo Main Library, and Serbian Cultural and Educational Society Prosvjeta Austria.<\/p>\n
On the eve of the premiere, the Isto\u010dno Sarajevo Main Library and Serbian Cultural and Educational Society Prosvjeta Austria signed a cooperation agreement in the premises of the Representation.<\/p>\n
In the Albert Hall ambience, the film and the book were presented by the film\u2019s producers \u2013 the director of the Republic of Srpska Cinematheque, Snje\u017ean Lalovi\u0107, and director of the Isto\u010dno Sarajevo Main Library, Nata\u0161a Kula\u0161inac, and the book\u2019s editor, academician Mirko \u0160o\u0161i\u0107.<\/p>\n
The producers pointed out that the film originated from the desire of Republic of Srpska institutions to repay Jeni Ligtenberg for everything she had done for the Serbian people in the last war in BiH.<\/p>\n
\u2013 This is a heartfelt story whose message is universally human and humane. Jeni Ligtenberg spent three war years selflessly helping the wounded, patients and the medical service, mostly living at the Koran Hospital in Pale. When she returned to the Netherlands, she continued to oppose the untruths spread by some Western media. She tried to change, to correct the image of the Serbian people than dominant in the West \u2013 said Lalovi\u0107.<\/p>\n
The screening of the film was attended, among others, by Bishop Andrej of Austria-Switzerland who addressed the guests, BiH Ambassador to the OSCE, Sini\u0161a Bencun, Anja Blum on behalf of the International Cooperation Department of the Austrian Red Cross, president of the Association of Serbian Clubs in Vienna, Luka Markovi\u0107, president of the Serbian Folklore Association of Austria, Aleksandar Stankovi\u0107, president of Austrian Prosvjeta, Marko Sari\u0107, and other prominent representatives of the Serbian community in Austria.<\/p>\n
The director of the Isto\u010dno Sarajevo Main Library pointed out that the film had been well received both in the Republic of Srpska and abroad, and added that cultural institutions in the Republic of Srpska would continue to nurture a culture of remembrance to preserve the testimonies and truths about the events of 30 years ago for the generations to come.<\/p>\n
At the Vienna premiere, it was jointly stated that the screening of this film was important for preserving the memory of the friends of the Serbian people, and that the message of the film was universal and in its essence anti-war.<\/p>\n
\u2013 It was a great pleasure to organize the screening of this film in Vienna. We need to show to today\u2019s generations and our compatriots in Austria everything that Jeni Ligtenberg had done. Friends in need must not be forgotten, and the great humanity and commitment to the truth demonstrated by Jeni Ligtenberg is a message that transcends all borders and divisions \u2013 said Mladen Filipovi\u0107, head of the Republic of Srpska\u2019s Austrian Representation.<\/p>\n
The film Jeni \u2013 a Little Light from the West recently received a Special Jury Award in the international selection at the March Festival, the oldest documentary film festival in Serbia, and the producers announced screenings in other European countries.<\/p>\n
Source and photo: RTRS<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last night, Vienna hosted the Austrian premiere of the documentary film Jeni \u2013 a Little Light from the West, directed by Slobodan Simojlovi\u0107. Numerous prominent representatives of the Serbian community in Vienna attended the screening of the film dedicated to the Dutchwoman Jeni Ligtenberg, who was on a humanitarian mission in Pale during the last war in BiH. The film is based on the book Pale War Diary 1993-1995<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vijesti","category-vijesti-dijaspora"],"yoast_head":"\n