The director of the Nikšić Tourist Organization, Mitar Barać, claims for Radio Free Europe (RSE) that this organization did not use citizens' money to finance the crew of the "Fortress" series of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), which was filmed in Nikšić this summer.
Barać's claims are denied by the contract on hotel services worth 200 euros, which he signed on July 29 this year, and which RSE had access to.
The series was filmed in Nikšić, which will be presented as Knin, during the 90s, during the military operation "Storm" in Croatia.
When asked by RSE, what is the interest in using citizens' money to help a series in which Nikšić and Montenegro are not mentioned, Barać says that the municipality of Nikšić paid for the accommodation services for the team of the series:
"Ask your colleagues from the municipality, I'm sure you'll get the information. But I'm sure it's not a figure of 200, but that it's significantly lower," Barać said on December 10.
The leaders of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević and Nemanja Vuković, did not answer RSE's calls or send answers to the December 10 inquiry.
Neither Comp-Comerc, which owns Hotel Onogošt, responded to RSE's inquiry.
Nevertheless, the Contract shows that with Barac's signature, the Tourist Organization undertook to pay Comp-Comerc 200.000 euros for accommodation and full board for the film crew.
Barać claims that they provided logistical support to the team, but not financial support.
"We had no expenses. Therefore, colleagues who work in the Tourism Organization were on the ground to support, when it comes to certain remote locations," said Barać in a telephone conversation with RSE.
Nikšić presented as Knin in the series
I believe that all this will be the subject of some serious prosecutorial investigations, MP Nikola Zirojević, from the opposition Social Democrats, told RSE.
For him, as a resident of Nikšić, it is unacceptable that fellow citizens' money is spent like this:
"It is yet another in a series of scandals of retrograde nationalist local government."
"I don't see how the series will contribute to the tourist content of our city", says Zirojević.
"At the same time, Nikšić (in the series) is presented as the war-torn city of Knin. And it is very possible that the series also contains certain historical falsifications, we'll see. Therefore, it would not be anything new for those who made it to deal with those things as well. I think it's scandalous, to say the least," says Zirojević. He notes that Nikšić has a historical tradition of a freedom-loving city where, even in the former Yugoslavia, emancipated, civic-minded people lived.
On the other hand, Barać denies the war theme of the "Fortress" series.
"First of all, let me clear up that dilemma. It's not a war theme, it's a classic love story."
When asked, what is the interest in sponsoring a series in which Nikšić will be presented as Knin with citizens' money, Barać says that the benefit is multiple.
"When certain series and films are filmed, you know that their friends and partners are mostly the municipalities where the filming takes place. This will be the case now as well. The tourism organization and the Municipality will be recognized as friends of this series".
And the first man of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević, attended the filming of the series in August. On that occasion, he told RTS that filming has significance for Nikšić as a city and its "underdeveloped rural areas". "Those regions were neglected in some previous period when it comes to Nikšić and Montenegro. We are glad that these days, thanks to this series and the entire team, these regions are living a new life," he said on August 13 for RTS.
Kovačević is an official of the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian New Serbian Democracy, which belonged to the recently disbanded Democratic Front.
That party has close political ties with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.
When Kovačević took office as the president of Nikšić municipality in the spring of 2021, he received a donation of two million euros on the recommendation of Vučić.
Series example of 'Vučić's soft power'
The series "Fortress" produced by RTS is one of the examples of the soft power that Serbia exercises in Montenegro, according to the Digital Forensic Center (DFC).
In the DFC study that analyzes the "sophisticated hybrid activities carried out by the regime of Aleksandar Vučić in Montenegro", it is stated that the malignant influence from Serbia also spreads through cinematography and that the political elites ignore it:
"Serbia actively strives to exert influence in culture and education in Montenegro by using soft power in order to present some values to the citizens as desirable and natural. Cinematography is one of the important channels of soft power that can be used to shape public opinion, attitudes, and emotionally manipulate." .
As they add in the analysis from December 5, "the plot of the series is set in Knin, Croatia, during the war years (1990-1995) and talks about the pogrom of Serbs from Croatia".
The sole and exclusive owner of the rights to the series "Fortress" is the public service of Serbia.
On July 29, the Ministry of Culture approved the filming of the series on the territory of Montenegro.
The footage was shot in the center of Nikšić, near the old city fortress Onogošt, and in the settlements of Velimlje, Vilusi, Grahovo...
Barać says that more than 100 artists stayed in Nikšić during the filming, which, he says, was used to promote the city. He emphasizes that a large number of regionally known artists shared their impressions from Nikšić on social networks.
He claims that both the economy and citizens benefited from that project.
"A large number of citizens had the opportunity to earn money through renting old cars, from parking, etc.," says Barać.
The series will be broadcast in 2025 and the cast includes actors from Montenegro.
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