January 11, 2023—The documentary film The Investigator will have its international premiere at the 5th edition of the FIPADOC International Documentary Festival taking place from January 20-28, 2023, in the coastal city of Biarritz, France. The film will be screened within the European Stories competitive selection. The Investigator examines the role of international justice during the Yugoslav wars and how it still resonates within contemporary society, making the film a perfect fit for the European Stories selection at the festival which explores European social issues and the (hi)story of European countries.
A directorial debut by Viktor Portel, the film follows a former investigator of The Hague Tribunal, Vladimír Dzuro, as he returns to the Balkans to places where war crimes were committed nearly 30 years ago. The film weaves together Vladimír’s recollection of his two most important cases with personal testimony of survivors, in order to understand how the trauma of war lingers on into the present day, and the role international justice played in this process.
The topic of international justice is a timely one, especially when war is taking place once again on European soil in the Ukraine. “We wanted to understand the significance and meaning of justice that is brought from the outside, and we were looking for a way to critically approach international justice while at the same time defend it” says director Viktor Portel. “Although the film is focused on the horrors of the past conflict in the Balkans, the real emphasis is not historical but on memory and trauma itself, and the influence this has on people’s current lives.” recounts producer Hana Blaha Šilarová, “the film shows why it is important to talk about the past, listen to the victims and question again and again what was and was not done".
The film is inspired by Vladimir Dzuro’s bestselling book The Investigator – Demons of the Balkan War (Grada, 2017, and Potomac Books, 2019).
The premiere screening of The Investigator is on Tuesday, January 24th, at 4:45 pm at the Cinéma le Royal in Biarritz. The screening will be followed by a Q&A.
The 2nd screening will take place on Thursday, January 26th at 7:30 pm at the Gare du Midi - Salle Gamaritz in Biarritz. In addition to this the film is also being screened as part of the FIPADOC CAMPUS- DOC STREAM program, an educational program for youth, on Monday January 24th at Cinéma Le Royal in Biarritz.
Frame Films is a Prague based production company that focuses on creative audiovisual projects with artistic elements. The film is produced by Hana Blaha Šilarová from Frame Films in coproduction with Oliver Sertić from Restart (Croatia) and Martina Šantavá from Czech Television, as well as the Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) and Al Jazeera Balkans. In association with Post Bellum. The world sales for the film is being handled by Christa Auderlitzky at Filmdelights.
The film has financial support from the Czech Film Fund, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, City of Zagreb and Vukovar Srijem County.
