How do you defend the indefensible?
Ten years after fleeing the regime in Serbia, Marko finds himself defending some of the very people that he fought against while he lived there, including the notorious Radovan Karadzic.
How do you defend the indefensible?
Ten years after fleeing the regime in Serbia, Marko finds himself defending some of the very people that he fought against while he lived there, including the notorious Radovan Karadzic.
This is Marko...
What does a fair trial mean for those charged with some of the most severe violations of the laws and principles which define humanity? Should those who commanded a genocide enjoy the protection of the law?
In the case of Radovan Karadžić, the most feared war criminal in the Balkans, the answer to these questions lies with Marko, a young, idealistic lawyer working for the defense at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague. Marko does not identify with the Serbian nationalists – in fact, he left Serbia because of the Milošević regime, and ended up marrying a Slovenian – but he firmly believes in a basic law principle: everyone has the right to a good defense. But as such principled abstractions meet with the specific evidence in the case, the very real emotions of the victims, and the high public scrutiny surrounding the case, Marko’s work takes over and spills in his private life, including his own marriage.
As Marko turns into a seasoned veteran, whose complex views are increasingly comfortable with ambiguity, doubt, and moral quandary, The Serbian Lawyer becomes a film about how a simple choice forces a devastating rift between the protagonist’s professional life, and his humanity. In this apparently simple story, centered on a single character, the documentary opens up a space for meditating on the meaning of the rule of law, on the relationship of each of us to history, and on the relationship between morality and the justice system.
Credits
DIRECTED BY:
Aleksandar Nikolić
SCREENPLAY BY:
Aleksandar Nikolić
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Aleksandar Nikolić, Caspar Brink
EDITED BY:
Aleksandar Nikolić
MUSIC:
Enrica Sciandrone
PRODUCER:
Gregor Streiber
PRODUCED BY:
Inselfilm produktion, Perfect Splice
Info
Running time: 82'
Year of Production: 2014
Country of Production: UK/Germany/Netherlands/Serbia
World Premiere: Jilhava International Documentary Film Festival 2014
Available now on iTunes
Get it on GooglePlay
Watch it now on Journeyman
Other festivals include: Kasseler Dokfest 2014; ZagrebDox 2015; Beldocs 2015; One World Romania 2015; Raindance 2015; One World Slovakia 2015; Eastern Neighbours Film Festival 2015; Munich festival of Balkan film; Cinema City Novi Sad 2015; One World Prague 2015, Ljubljana IDFF 2015,
Trailer
Reviews
“The exciting, enlightening film, which reconstructs the historical background with gruesome images of the war and Super 8 material from Sladojevic's peaceful childhood, depicts different positions.”
— Dietmar Kanthak, epd Film
“The Serbian Lawyer is a quiet, concentrated, yet quasi-intense film...It's not about theses, but about facets which may also be in conflict with each other.”
— Thomas Groh, Perlentaucher
“A calm, thoughtful documentary, which identifies the complex and difficult work of processing a war through the example of a lawyer.”
“It is this openness, honesty and the self-reflection of the protagonist that makes Nicolić's documentary worth seeing.”
“Nicolić understands how difficult it is even for a smart, self-critical person not to be too focused on one side in search of the truth.”
★★★★
— Falk Straub, Spielfilm
Gallery
One World Romania Interview with Marko Sladojevic & Aleksandar Nikolic
ARTE Interview with director Aleksandar Nikolic
One World Romania interview with The Serbian Lawyer himself, Marko Sladojevic.
Arte Television interview (in French) with director Aleksandar Nikolic about the making of The Serbian Lawyer. For German click here.