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The cabinet of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, requested that the film "The Stork" by Kosovo director Isa Qosja be shown to the public again, after its screening on September 3 was forcibly interrupted.
The interruption occurred due to the reaction of some citizens, who, it seemed, did not accept the fact that the film was in Albanian.
"We expect the police and the Prosecutor's Office to identify the perpetrators and prosecute them. It is important to enable the film to be shown again," said a statement issued by Milatovic's office.
The Montenegrin police did not issue any official statement, but Radio Free Europe was told unofficially that it is still "collecting information" and that it is "acting on the prosecutor's orders."
The organizers of the Xhada festival, where "The Stork" was being screened, confirmed that an "unpleasant situation" had occurred and that the screening of the film had been interrupted for security reasons.
They did not want to comment further to Radio Free Europe.
Several political parties and civil society called on the authorities to urgently punish this type of violent behavior and protect the dignity of artists, citizens, and public space.
Jasmin Muriq, who was part of the audience, described the course of events to Radio Free Europe:
"After the first scene and the first words spoken in Albanian, some people left the show, making bad comments. After 20 minutes, a group of people standing nearby started shouting loudly, demanding that the show be stopped."
He said that one of the organizers asked them to be quiet and allow the film to continue, but that they "threatened and insulted him", and even "showed signs of physical assault".
According to Muriqi, the situation calmed down a bit, but about 15 minutes later, “another group of seven or eight people, aged between 20 and 40, appeared.”
“They aggressively and loudly demanded that the film be stopped immediately. They shouted: 'Stop this film immediately,' 'No Albanian films in [the] Zabjello [neighborhood],' 'I live here and you can't show me an Albanian film," Muriq confessed.
"The organizers acted immediately according to the 'order'. The police who were nearby, two cars at the beginning and end of the road, did not react while I was there," he said.
One of the producers of the film "The Stork", Ivan Djurovic, told Radio Free Europe that none of the competent government institutions have contacted any of the film crew after the interruption of the film.
He said he is surprised, but does not blame those who caused the incident.
"I don't blame these people. Society is poisoned. With all the information it is exposed to, with this kind of indoctrination, poisoning, nothing is surprising," he said.
According to him, "The Stork" is a story about the position of women in isolated areas, including parts of Montenegro.
"People from different countries worked on the film, including Montenegro. There were Montenegrins, Serbs and Albanians on the team. This is a story about them. Director Isa Qosja was born in the village of Vuthaj, on the border with Albania. It is logical that the film be in Albanian," said Djurovic.
He sees the incident as a deeper problem, because "the state has not devoted any time to building a healthy society."
According to him, society is on the verge of a serious crisis.
"This didn't start yesterday. Society has been neglected for a long time. Everyone is allowed to act as they wish, and no one is seriously concerned with the fight against these disorders," said Djurovic.
The violent interruption of the film was condemned by part of the public, the non-governmental sector, as well as representatives of political and religious life.
In addition to demanding that the film be repeated and the perpetrators identified, the Office of the President of Montenegro said that the violent interruption of the film's screening represents serious discrimination and open intolerance, "simply because the film was shot in the Albanian language."
"This is an alarm that fundamental social values are suffering a serious blow," the statement said.
The head of the Islamic Community in Montenegro, Rifat Fejzic, said that the interruption of the film is an "attack on the cultural diversity" of Montenegro.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development in Montenegro, Nik Gjeloshaj, the violent interruption of the screening of the Albanian-language film is not only an issue of the Albanian community, but an issue of Montenegro.
"Those who are most responsible for reacting and ensuring the screening of the film are: the president of the state, the prime minister and the speaker of the parliament. Unfortunately, their reaction is lacking," said Gjeloshaj.
The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Nikollë Camaj, said that he expects a decisive reaction from the institutions and announced that he "will personally ensure that the authorities find the organizers and perpetrators of this despicable event."
The European Union Delegation to Montenegro, which financially supported the Xhada festival, issued a brief statement on the X network, saying that “freedom of artistic expression is an integral part of freedom of speech and one of the core democratic values.” /REL
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