Urgent Appeal from the Serbian Film Community

Dear Members of the International Film Community,We are reaching out on behalf of the representative associations of Association of Film Producers of Serbia (UFPS), Serbian Film Directors’ Guild (AFRS), DokSerbia – Documentary Filmmakers of Serbia, Screenwriters Guild of Serbia (USA), Serbian Society of Cinematographers (SAS), Association of Film Artists of Serbia (UFUS), Union of Film Animators of Serbia (UFAS), Association of Film Actors of Serbia and Association of Film and Television Sound Designers of Serbia (UDZS) to inform you of the alarming situation of cinema in Serbia.The Serbian film industry is currently facing a coordinated campaign of state-sponsored censorship. While Film Center Serbia continues to project a “business as usual” image internationally, the reality is a total freeze on funding calls designed to starve independent production.Instead of supporting the industry, the Ministry of Culture exercises open hostility, publicly branding filmmakers as “anti-Serbian” and labeling cultural investment as “wasted” funds.Film Center Serbia has announced no public calls for more than 14 months, despite having funds allocated in their budget. By not doing so, it is openly breaking Serbian law. Political interference, informal blacklists of filmmakers, and public attacks on artists have become systemic. Domestic projects have been excluded from accessing the public tax incentives, while previously approved cash rebate obligations to local and foreign investors remain unpaid.Filmmakers vocally critical of the authorities are systematically denied access to public funding, regardless of their professional track record and international recognition. The leadership of film and cultural institutions has been handed to political appointees with no professional qualifications, whose primary function is to act as gatekeepers and censors.These practices represent a serious violation of artistic freedom, transparency, and the rule of law. We call on the international film community and the European public funding institutions to be fully aware of the current conditions in Serbia and to raise their concern until lawful, transparent, and independent institutional film practices are restored.We, Serbian filmmakers, urgently call on your solidarity and active support in defending artistic freedom and protecting the integrity of cinema in Serbia.Sincerely,Association of Film Producers of Serbia (UFPS)
Serbian Film Directors’ Guild (AFRS)
DokSerbia – Documentary Filmmakers of Serbia Screenwriters guild of Serbia (USS)
Serbian Society of Cinematographers (SAS)
Association of Film Artists of Serbia (UFUS)
Union of Film Animators of Serbia (UFAS)
Association of Film Actors of Serbia (UFGS)
Association of Film and Television Sound Designers of Serbia (UDZS)

Photo: Meeting of the Serbian film associations (photo by Djordje Arambašić)

Del din kærlighed
Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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