The Scorpions, A Home Movie
| The Scorpions, A Home Movie | |
|---|---|
 Insignia of the Serbian paramilitary group Scorpions, the perpetrators in the film. | |
| Directed by | Lazar Stojanović |
| Produced by | Nataša Kandić |
Release dates | 1995 (original) 2007 (recovered) |
Running time | ~28 minutes ~2 hours (uncut) |
| Country | Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Languages | Bosnian Serbian |
The Scorpions, A Home Movie (Serbian Cyrillic: Шкорпиони, кућни филм; Bosnian: Škorpioni, kućni film) is a 1995 film by director Lazar Stojanović and producer Nataša Kandić[1] showcasing the Srebrenica massacre.
Plot[edit]
The film showcases the Srebrenica massacre, in which 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were systematically killed from 11 to 31 July 1995 during the Bosnian War.[2] It shows the Serbian paramilitary group Scorpions[3][4] bringing six Bosnian Muslims into a ditch, then firing above them. Later, they were brought near the village of Trnovo, where they were systematically executed. The tape reportedly showed the members firing upon a refugee column on the Pale–Srebrenica road and littering their corpses on the road.
After the war, it was passed around as a war souvenir by the members of the group. The commander ordered the destruction of all tapes, but one managed to stay by a member of the group.[5] In 2005, a recording of the tape was shown during the trial of Slobodan Milošević.
2007 recovery and broadcasting[edit]
In 2007, Nataša Kandić had recovered a copy of the original tape from a man in Šid, reportedly a part of the paramilitary group, who provided it only on the condition that she not air it until he had safely left the country. A cut 28 minute version was broadcast on Serbian and Bosnian television. The Guardian described the tape as the "smoking gun" and "the final, incontrovertible proof of Serbia's part in the Srebrenica massacres."[6] The New York Times called the airing of the tape on Serbian television a "watershed" moment for the country.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ Heffernan, Catherine (2007-11-21). "Controversial documentary The Scorpions has opened Serbs' eyes to state atrocities". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Bosnia's Srebrenica massacre 25 years on – in pictures". BBC News. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ Sunter, Daniel (5 August 2005). "Serbia: Mladic "Recruited" Infamous Scorpions". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Totten, Samuel; Bartrop, Paul R. (2008). Dictionary of Genocide. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-31334-644-6.
- ^ "Srebrenica video vindicates Serb activist's work". NBC News. 2005-06-25. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ Tim Judah and Daniel Sunter (4 June 2005). "How video that put Serbia in dock was brought to light". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Nicholas Wood (10 April 2007). "Serbian Court Convicts 4 in Srebrenica Massacre". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2012.