With the aim of objectively informing the public and establishing facts about the events of Tuesday, August 15th, at the industry forum of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, the festival management said that the controversial film 'Heroes of Halyard' was not screened at the 29th SFF and that the content of the presentation, when the film was announced, was “under the sole responsibility of Telekom Srbija, Serbia's state-owned telecommunciations operator.

“As part of a business presentation by Telekom Srbija at the festival's industry forum, among their other new projects, an upcoming film still in post-production – ‘Heroes of Halyard’ – was announced. Basic information about the project was provided, and three excerpts of filmed material were shown to around 70 attendees. The content of the presentation was under the sole responsibility of Telekom Srbija,” said the SFF management.

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The ‘Heroes of Halyard’, a film being made by Serbian actor and director Rados Bajic, was presented as part of CineLink Industry Days, an event showcasing projects under preparation and connecting film professionals from the region.

The film glorifies Chetniks for their role in saving Allied pilots whose planes were shot down in combat missions in the area of Yugoslavia during World War II.

During the presentation of the film, to be finalised in the autumn, excerpts were screened that show Chetniks as “good guys” and friends to Allied pilots.

Operation Halyard was a 1944 mission launched by the USA to organise the evacuation of US and British pilots shot down over Serbia, and in doing so, the Allies relied on the logistic support of Chetniks, led by Draza Mihailovic, who controlled a part of the territory suitable for building a runway.

Different sources mention a figure of slightly more than 400 pilots and other crew members who were saved that way.

That fact was used as the basis for a revisionist approach to the history of WWII in Serbia, aimed at depicting Chetniks as freedom fighters instead of collaborationists, which they undoubtedly were.

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“Up until now, we have communicated with all partners in professional trust regarding the material they would present. The content of this project was never mentioned. It is evident that this supposititious revisionist content has breached that trust. We accept responsibility for this inappropriate content and understand the negative comments from the public,” the festival management said in an official statement.

They also announced new rules and regulations

“It has been decided that, starting from the next Festival, all presentations at the Sarajevo Film Festival, including industry ones, will undergo selection by the Festival's programmers. This was not the case previously, as similar business entities in this sector were free to present their work. Additionally, within the organization, measures will be taken to prevent similar situations from recurring. The Sarajevo Film Festival will not allow itself to be used for the promotion of historical revisionism of any kind,” according to the statement.