For Serbian young adults, the conflict of the 1990s is a vague memory, but the effects of that war still linger all around them.
Lane Stopher and his co-workers at the War Trauma Center in Serbia wanted to explore the aftermath of war on society. They enlisted the help of young adults by creating a video contest around the subject of “psychological effects of violence” and asked the youth to submit videos for a chance to both educate the public and win prize money.
The grand-prize-winning film, Stolen Freedom, featured the story of Serbian refugees who were fleeing the conflict that was encroaching on their homes in parts of Bosnia and Croatia. The refugees thought they reached safety, but they were immediately turned around and forced into the army.
That story, along with the other videos, helped illustrate some of the trauma that war causes to individuals and culture.
“Most people don’t really know much about the larger effects of war—the causes, the symptoms and what they do to the larger society,” Stopher says. “We wanted to do something educational but also creative.”
The conflict in the former Yugoslavia started at the end of the 1980s, when the once-prosperous country was facing growing economic challenges and rising turmoil in its diverse population.
This combustible setting was ignited in 1991 by growing nationalism and internal and external political pressure, which catapulted the entire region into a dramatic and bloody conflict, resulting in the formation of six official countries and one disputed country. An estimated 140,000 people were killed and more than 4 million displaced during the 10-year conflict.
Stopher, from Central Mennonite Church in Archbold, Ohio, works at the War Trauma Center through a partnership facilitated by Mennonite Mission Network. He writes grants to help fund the Center’s counseling and psychological support for those traumatized by violence and ongoing conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The film project was part of the “Looking Ahead by Facing the Past” project, funded by Mennonite Central Committee.
Stopher and his coworkers thought a video contest would generate more interest and diversity of perspectives than simply paying for a professionally produced video.
Other entries included a silent movie called Trauma, about a soldier who lives with the memory of his field nurse being gunned down. Another film, Temporarily Displaced, is about a dissident who waits in fear as what appear to be government agents enter his house. Another video, called 20 Years Later, documents the history of the war from the battles on the ground to Croatia’s admission into the European Union.
The video project was an opportunity for budding filmmakers to showcase their work for a good cause.
“We wanted to encourage young adults to use their skills and knowledge for social involvement, not just for money,” he says.
Entrants were given one month to submit their videos, and then, after being reviewed by a panel of judges for content and relevance, they were uploaded onto YouTube. The winner was determined by a weighted system of “views” and “likes,” which YouTube tracks.
The contest generated national media interest. One of the winners came from a small town, Stopher says, and his local radio news outlet contacted the War Trauma Center. The staff ended up speaking about the project and the work of the War Trauma Center on live radio.
“The winner let us know that during the voting period, a Bosnian newspaper contacted him, since they had gotten word of the contest and the content,” Stopher says. “The newspaper ended up writing a two-page article about the story the filmmaker depicted. It’s a relatively unknown story that’s very powerful.”
Stopher says the staff isn’t sure what they’ll do for next year’s peace project, but the video contest has provided a jumping-off point and sparked new ideas about how to communicate about war trauma and the mission of their organization.
The film Trauma can be viewed on YouTube.
###
For immediate release
Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
