Prelude to Kosovo: War and Peace in Bosnia and Croatia

The film "challenges some of the conventional wisdom about the recent horrors there and offers some plausible shreds of hope for reconciliation and a brighter future. Michalczyk also has a background in theology, and it is his clear ecumenical spirit and interest in religious history that animates this informative and worthy film." --John Koch, The Boston Globe.

"Prelude to Kosovo: War and Peace in Bosnia and Croatia" (1999; 52 minutes), a film depicting the bitter civil war in the former Yugoslavia, premiered at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in September, 1999. Shot on location in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia, the documentary combines graphic footage and interviews with religious and political figures. The film addresses the ideology of "ethnic cleansing" and the massacres resulting from a nationalist quest for political, cultural and religious domination. The Serbian Orthodox, Bosnian Muslim and Croatian Catholic perspectives are all represented.
The film features original Balkan music by Alexis Gavras, Vedran Smailovic and Vuk Kulenovic. Boston PBS affiliates WGBH and WGBX aired the television premiere of "Prelude to Kosovo" in November, 1999.
"Prelude to Kosovo" was shown as part of the Common Ground Film Festival, a traveling, international film festival designed to recognize the achievements of socially-conscious filmmakers, to strengthen the influence of film and video in transforming conflict, and to move audiences beyond viewing to engagement and dialogue. It was sponsored by Search for Common Ground, a non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes peaceful and cooperative approaches to conflict resolution. The festival made its debut in Washington, DC in October, 2001, toured college and university campuses across the United States, and concluded in Brussels in September, 2002.
Available through “The Cinema Guild,” 130 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10016; Telephone: 1.800.723.5522; Fax: 212.685.4717. Student discounts ($34.95/copy); call for special church and non-profit pricing.