PRESS RELEASE – 10 May 2006

Serb-Albanian TV documentary «Greetings from Kosovo»

receives today the Silver Award for best political documentary

at Hamburg WorldMediaFestival

Directed by Dusan Gajic (Serbia), in collaboration with Fatos Bytyci (Kosovo), this 56’ documentary, produced by SEETV, is an attempt to explore the nature of the dispute of Europe’s most difficult territorial question: the future of Kosovo. “Greetings from Kosovo” intends to break usual reporting stereotypes in Serbian and Kosovar media.

This award underlines the quality of the work of the journalistic team, in a context where it’s extremely difficult to report objectively about the perceptions of “the other side”, and where the media tend to cover only the point of view of the community they belong to. “I see this award as a plea for a more open and fair media coverage of the Kosovo issue, which is dramatically lacking in both Serbian and Kosovar media” says Dusan Gajic. “There can be no good solution for Kosovo’s final status without a wide and open debate in which members of both communities can participate. And media have a crucial role to play in creating the conditions for such an open debate to happen – by giving voice to the preoccupations of all communities - not just their own. An open debate in the media is essential not only to widen the space for the possible solutions but also for the capacity of a society to make compromise and come to a solution which is comfortable for everybody.”

“Greetings from Kosovo” was produced thanks to the support of the King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium) and the Fund for Open Society in Belgrade and Prishtina.

The documentary film was shown on major television channels in Serbia, in Kosovo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Croatia, in Montenegro, in Albania as well as on Euronews. For more info on the documentary, please visit

Short description

A mixed journalist team (Albanian and Serb), travels around Kosovo to meet ordinary people from both communities- in cities and villages, in enclaves and monasteries, in schools, cafés and hospitals. They talk to leading figures in media and political life, from moderate and radical circles and from international organisations. Exploring the mosaic of daily life in the disputed land, exchanging views and perceptions on the present and the future. For both communities, it’s clear that the current situation has to change. But there are radically opposed views on what the future status of Kosovo should be. Can the deadlock be broken? Can Europe be the key to Kosovo’s future?

Debate on “Reporting Kosovo: achieving balance and breaking stereotypes” in Brussels on 12 May

Extracts from the documentary film “Greetings from Kosovo” will be screened in Brussels on 12 May to spur a debate organised by the International Federation of Journalists and South East Europe TV Exchanges. For more information on this debate, please visit

For more info, call Dusan Gajic : +32 472 76 18 13 or + 381 63 258 694 or E-mail:

For more info on the World Media Festival:

SEETV is a non-profit TV agency covering EU policies and events for Balkan broadcasters. SEETV stimulates joint production of documentary films among Balkan journalists.

SEETV – Belgrade office: Dobracina 13 – 11000 Belgrade – Serbia and Montenegro

Tel +381 63 258 694

SEETV- Brussels office: Avenue du Diamant 95 – 1030 Brussels – Belgium

Tel +472 76 18 13