Students Produce Film, Regime Media Misrepresents Portions as Fabricated Incidents
Photo from a student protest in Serbia: Reuters
Students from the Academy of Arts in Belgrade have stated that footage, which certain media have claimed depicts students pretending to stage incidents, is actually part of a film project and has been misinterpreted.
The students mentioned that they commenced filming a documentary a month ago, focusing on the theme of student protests.
Their film aims to honor the victims of the Novi Sad canopy collapse, as well as the injured and fallen peers among the students.
During a protest in Kragujevac, a scene was filmed in a private street for safety purposes, involving both students and citizens. However, the regime-affiliated media released the footage, describing it as “an instance of staging traffic incidents at student blockades.”
The film crew informed N1 that “certain media misrepresented the footage and crafted a misleading narrative regarding supposed manipulation during the student protests.”
“In relation to the report dated 16.02.2025, broadcasted by National News of RTV Pink at 15.00 and subsequently shared on portals and news platforms like TV Prva, Informer, and B92, which portrays an allegedly orchestrated filming of a confrontation between demonstrators and drivers – we would like to clarify that the footage in question was recorded for a student film created by a fourth-year directing student at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade, in which several Academy students, alongside others from various faculties, participated as actors and extras,” they asserted in their statement.
Informer was the first outlet to claim possession of “startling footage that casts a new perspective on traffic incidents during the so-called student protests across Serbia.”
“As emerging filmmakers, we advocate for freedom of expression and artistic liberty, yet we oppose our work being misrepresented for political gain,” stated the film crew in response to the reports.
They expressed their willingness to cooperate with state authorities.
“We are open to assist the relevant authorities, providing all necessary evidence upon request, clarifying that our project does not involve scripted attacks on students, as inaccurately portrayed by the aforementioned media outlets,” the statement from the students at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade concluded.
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