OSCAR WINNING HOLLYWOOD ACTOR KEVIN SPACEY CLOSE 14TH SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (26 August,2008) - The Sarajevo Film Festival, which opened on August 15th, closed with a screening of "The Usual Suspects", starring US actor Kevin Spacey, who attended the festival.The Bosnian capital Sarajevo, which became "a vibrant city that never sleeps", hosted more than 100,000 visitors during the festival's nine days. It offered side events, concerts and performances in addition to 20 film screenings a day. Over 1,300 accredited guests and 650 journalists attended the festival.

The joint Croatia-Bosnia production "Buick Riviera" won Best Film and the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Prize at the 14th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF). Goran Rusinovic, a Croatian, directed the film, based on a book by Miljenko Jergovic. Actors Leon Lucev and Slavko Stimac, who co-starred in the movie, shared the Best Actor award.

Finally, with an average mark of 4.78, "The Usual Suspects" won the Audience Award, surpassing the Bosnian documentary "The Seeker" by 0.02 points.


Two-time Oscar winning Hollywood actor and film director Kevin Spacey signs autographs at the Sarajevo Film Festival.


Two-time Oscar winning U.S. actor Kevin Spacey on the red carpet, at the 14th Sarajevo Film Festival, in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Friday, Aug. 22, 2008. In honour of his arrival, the Festival organized a special screening of his cult movie The Usual Suspects by director Bryan Singer, the role in which he was awarded his first Academy Award. A total of 174 movies from more than 40 countries was presented within 12 programs during the nine-day long festival.


Two-time Oscar winning U.S. actor Kevin Spacey, left, and Mirsad Purivatra, right, the director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, on the red carpet, at the 14th Sarajevo Film Festival, in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo, Friday, Aug. 22, 2008.

Sarajevo Film Festival Director Mirsad Purivatra received the Chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres, one of France's highest prizes for an outstanding contribution to spreading French culture or promoting global cultural heritage.
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FOUR NEW WITNESSES TESTIFIED BEFORE BOSNIAN STATE COURT AT TRIAL OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL NOVAK DJUKIC

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (26 August,2008) - Four new Prosecution witnesses have testified before the Bosnian State Court about May 25, 1995, when a mortar hit the Kapija area in Tuzla, where young Bosnian people used to gather, killing 71 and wounding more than 200 Bosnian civilians.

The Bosnian State Prosecution charges this crime upon Serbian war criminal Novak Djukic, former commander of a genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's paramilitary unit (VRS).

The Prosecution considers that, on May 25, 1995 Serbian war criminal Novak Djukic ordered the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's artillery squad, situated in Panjik village on mount Ozren, to shell the eastern Bosnian city of Tuzla, using 130mm cannons.

"I heard an explosion and I saw a lot of dust. A few seconds later we heard screams and cries for help. There was blood everywhere. People were saying all kinds of things, like 'do not leave us here, save us' and so on, " Nadir Huremovic said. As he was not injured on that day, he and his friend tried to help the wounded.

Witness Vildana Isic said that her two brothers were wounded on that day, but she was not injured. She said that she went to Gradina hospital by car, together with her brothers and a few other wounded Bosnian civilians. When they got there they received medical assistance.

"I had to step on my friends' body parts. When we arrived to the hospital, I found out that my boyfriend had been killed. A friend of mine, who was with me on that day, died ten days later," Isic said.

Witnesses Edin Altunbabic and Adnan Aliefendic were not wounded on May 25, 1995. As they said in the courtroom, they tried to help whoever they could after the mortar had hit the ground.

"I drove a few people to the hospital. I stayed there, helping others carry the wounded people to the hospital. I remember a truck, which drove many wounded people to the hospital. Most of them did not show any signs of life," Altunbabic said.

The trial of Serbian war criminal Novak Djukic is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on September 2, 2008, when the Bosnian State Prosecutor will examine three more witnesses.
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BOSNIAN STATE COURT INDICTS SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL ZORAN TOMIC FOR GENOCIDE

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (26 August,2008) - The Bosnian State Court confirmed yesterday the Indictment against a former member of the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's formations on a charge of Genocide for taking part in the mass murder of up to 10,000 Bosnian civilians from the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The Indictment states that Serbian war criminal Zoran Tomic, intending to exterminate in part a group of Bosnians, as a member of the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's formations, in the period from 10 July to 19 July 1995, participated in the forcible transfer of the Bosnian population from the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica with the aim to execute them.

On 12 July 1995, the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's formations participated in the search of the Bosnian villages in the UN safe area of Srebrenica, in the vicinity of Potočari.

The Indictment also states that, on 13 July 1995,Serbian war criminal Zoran Tomic participated in the attacks in the area above Kamenica.

The Accused Tomić is alleged to have thus participated in the illegal detention of several thousand Bosnian civilians who were attempting to escape from the safe area and who were taken to warehouse of the Kravica Farming Cooperative where they were later mass murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor.

Serbian war criminal Zoran Tomic was arrested by the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) in June 2008.
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