The 16th Human Rights Day was held: Pollution in Zenica is a problem of international importance

In Cineplexx Sarajevo, the excellently rated film THE SKY ABOVE ZENICA directed by Nanna Frank Møller and Zlatko Pranjić was shown. After the screening, journalist and director Robert Zuber moderated a panel discussion on the topic "Investment in tomorrow: Who owns the future?", with the authors of the film, producer Lisa Lense Møller and the ambassador of the Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina, His Excellency Henk van den Dool.

The film THE SKY ABOVE ZENICA highlights the efforts of the citizens' association Eko Forum, led by activist Samir Lemeš, to expose how the ironworks, which is the source of pollution in the city of Zenica, presents itself as an environmentally conscious industrial plant while at the same time continuing with its harmful practices. Despite the fact that the plant enjoys the support of seemingly oblivious city authorities and attracts money from European investors, its real impact on the environment and population of Zenica remains hidden.

Speaking about the motivation for starting this project, director Pranjić recalled that in 2017 they came across an article in The Guardian entitled "Zenica: a city of iron where even breathing can be painful". Then he recognized Samir, his childhood friend who was leading this battle, but his voice could not be heard at that moment. The text motivated him to call Nanna to initiate a joint film shoot.

The director spoke openly about her initial emotions about this problem. As she states, although she is an outsider in this story, she easily understood that it is difficult for the inhabitants of the war-affected area to get back on their feet, when nothing fundamentally changes in the environment in which they live.

"Big corporations are getting bigger and bigger, which every day makes it harder for those who would like to oppose them. That's why you don't often find people like Samir who are brave enough to confront these problems," said Nana Frank Møller, adding that noticed that other residents of Zenica also started to speak more openly about this problem after the work on this project started. Despite this, the director warns that these things are usually quickly swept under the carpet, so she appealed to the international community to help persevere in solving this problem.

The Ambassador of the Netherlands assessed this project as important not only because environmental protection is one of the focuses of this country's foreign policy, but also because it was recognized that film can be a powerful weapon in dealing with these and similar problems.

"It is painful to see that it is not about a Skywalker who wants to take over the empire, but that it is a reality, which is only a few kilometers from where we are currently sitting," the ambassador reminded.

His Excellency compared the example of Zenica with the circumstances that applied to his hometown in the past.

"There was an ironworks like this one in the place where I grew up. I remember that my mother never took the laundry outside to dry because it would turn completely gray. When it snowed in the winter, we would only have one day to be happy about it, because the next day it would already completely blackened and we didn't find anything unusual about it," Van den Dool recalled.

Warning about the long-term consequences of this pollution, the ambassador warns that even today, fifty years after this pollution, when numerous precautionary measures have already been taken, there is an increased incidence of cancer, diabetes and other diseases in this region compared to other regions in the Netherlands. This example should further encourage a sense of urgency when it comes to the problem that Zenica is facing today. Van den Dool is concerned by the fact that the film does not show that any of the authorities or representatives of Željezara show a willingness to take responsibility for what is happening, reminding that in such cases it is important that there is strong legislation that will force it.

Producer Lise Lense-Møller reminded that many environmental problems around the world remain forgotten until someone sheds light on them.

"Our task, the task of the film, is to shed light on forgotten topics and to encourage conversations about them," she said.

After the main part of the panel, the audience enthusiastically congratulated the author team on the project. The protagonist of the film, Samir Lemeš, spoke from the audience and spoke about the current situation in Zenica and the steps that will be taken in this matter, announcing tomorrow's meeting with the authorities, which will be held without the presence of cameras.