Serbia’s Screen Industries in Crisis Amid Claims That Blacklists, ‘State-Sponsored Censorship’ Are Designed to ‘Starve Independent Production’

The Serbian film and television industries are in a state of crisis, with independent production in the Balkan powerhouse crippled by what leading industry groups describe as “a coordinated campaign of state-sponsored censorship.”

Nearly two years after a devastating train station disaster that killed 16 people and sparked mass demonstrations against the government of President Aleksandar Vučić, independent producers say they’re being shut out by state-aligned media and starved of financing by the national funding body, Film Center Serbia, which has not announced a public call in nearly two years.

“There are virtually no independent sources of financing left in Serbia,” said one leading film and TV producer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of potential repercussions.

“Whether you are looking for public funding for a film, financing from the national broadcaster, or investment from the other major media companies, all of the major sources of financing are now state-owned or state-controlled,” they added. “If you are considered politically undesirable, there is really nowhere else to go.”

Earlier this year, a coalition of leading film guilds and professional associations issued a desperate plea to the international film community, alleging in an open letter that “political interference, informal blacklists of filmmakers and public attacks on artists have become systemic” in the once booming Balkan biz.

“The Serbian film industry is currently facing a coordinated campaign of state-sponsored censorship,” read the letter, which was signed by eight industry bodies. “While Film Center Serbia continues to project a ‘business as usual’ image internationally, the reality is a total freeze on funding calls designed to starve independent production.”

The tragedy at the Novi Sad railway station, where a concrete canopy collapsed in November 2024, killing 16 bystanders, sparked nationwide protests — among the largest in Europe in recent memory — and became a symbol of entrenched corruption in the Vučić administration. Prime Minister Miloš Vučević stepped down in the aftermath, though the president has rejected ongoing calls for his resignation.

Director Jelena Maksimović, whose Venice-bound debut feature “Until the Day Ends” is set against the student protests that galvanized the nation, told Variety that “the attempt to silence us is part of a broader attack on workers, on collective organizing and on the possibility of imagining a society based on solidarity, equality and freedom.”

Producer Jelena Angelovski echoed her remarks, adding that “those who do not see eye to eye with the regime [are] thoroughly obstructed in their efforts to make films, regardless of whether or not these films are openly political.” 

“For close to two years now all institutional funding for film production has been entirely suspended, except for those who are propagating the right-wing nationalist government’s corrupted ways,” she said.

The systematic silencing of opposition voices is part of what Angelovski describes as a broader strategy by the Vučić regime of “actively and by all possible means — from administrative to those involving physical violence and imprisonment — repressing all forms of opposition to its authoritarian and criminal methods of governance and its highly reactionary politics.”

Critics accuse the country’s largest media groups, including the state-owned Telekom Srbija and the United Media conglomerate, of blacklisting creatives opposed to the right-wing government, what the veteran producer characterizes as “actors and filmmakers who are considered acceptable and those who are not.”

“Your public statements, your social media activity and whether you take part in protests can determine whether you get a role or a job,” they said.

United Media did not respond to a request for comment. Aleksandra Martinović, chief multimedia and content officer at Telekom Srbija, rejected allegations of bias at the company and its production arm, TS Media, insisting the group is “completely open” to work with any and all talent, regardless of their political beliefs. 

“Our results and our projects show what we are doing and the way we work,” she said. “We are completely open-minded.”

Meanwhile, as the political deadlock shows no signs of resolution, Serbian industry professionals worry about the consequences that their silencing will have on society at large. 

“This kind of censorship is leaving people without work and without a space for their voices to be heard,” said the veteran producer. “And when you systematically remove critical voices from film, television and the media, what you are left with is an increasingly dark and controlled public space.”