Golden Apricot: The film shows how justice in life may turn into a business
Film “The Prosecutor, the Defender, the father and his son” by Bulgarian Director Iglika Triffonova, is included in Feature Competition of the 13th Golden Apricot International Film Festival
Two ambitious lawyers face each other in the trial of Milorad Krstić, who’s accused of committing war crimes as a commander in the Bosnian war. The defender, Mikhail Finn, has managed to refute all the accusations against his client. Convinced of Krstic’s guilt, Catherine Lagrange, the prosecutor, summons a young man with incriminating evidence against Krstić. He claims to have been abandoned by his parents as a child and to have been one of Krstić’s soldiers. Defender Finn starts to investigate in order to verify the witness’ testimony – and soon encounters the young man’s family.
“The film was screened on Monday within the scope of the festival. In Bosnia the anniversary of the Genocide was marked yesterday (Srebrenica, 1995). I am not certain whether that was a coincidence or planned by the organizers to screen the film yesterday. I stress this, since it is quite important for me”, - Director Iglika Triffonova told reporters at the meeting, adding she embodied her father in the film.
Asked whether there are parallels with the Armenian Genocide, the actor Izudin Bajrović, present at the meeting, said “Certainly, there are parallels”.
He stressed that that he film is not about a war, but of the consequences of that each victim demands justice, while the film shows how justice in life turns into a business.
Izudin Bajrović informed the film have not yet been screened in Bosnia and cannot say what feedback the spectators will give. It has been presented in Estonia, Bulgaria, and Amsterdam thus far. According to the actor, Balkan people who passed through such tragedies, perceived the film differently as compared to the Northern Europeans who lacked any idea about the events depicted in the film.
“Only peoples, who suffered such a tragedy, may understand one another,” Izudin Bajrović noted.