Reading & Viewing List

  1. Essential Preparation: Documentaries & Films

The Death of Yugoslavia (BBC, 1995, 6 parts, BAFTA winner)

  • Available on YouTube

  • Documentary series on the collapse of Yugoslavia and the wars that followed. Uses archival footage with interviews of the main political actors, including Slobodan Milošević. Interviews were subsequently used by the ICTY in war crimes prosecutions.

  • Episodes 3–5 include the Bosnia-specific coverage

Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020, Oscar-nominated, European Film Award winner)

  • Available on major streaming platforms

  • A UN translator tries to save her family as the Srebrenica massacre unfolds in July 1995.

  • Directed by a Bosnian filmmaker who lived through the war. One of the most important films to emerge from the conflict.

Rebuilding Mostar Bridge: A global mission to heal the wounds of the war (2004,

  • Available on YouTube

  • The Bridge of Mostar was an ancient architectural wonder. Its destruction was a symbol of ethnic hatred. When the bridge was blown up during the Croat–Bosniak War, the world watched in horror as the representation of peace and unity seemed to be lost forever. Rebuilding it was an essential step in healing the wounds of the conflict. However, no plans for the original bridge were believed to exist. Top experts from around the globe came together to unravel the mystery of how such a magnificent structure could have been built more than 400 years ago. Is it possible to reconstruct a medieval bridge using original methods while also meeting contemporary safety standards?