“The Silent Balkans” is a specially commissioned documentary written and directed by Andreas Apostolides, based on the first photographs and films of the Balkans.

The film explores the lives of ordinary people in the midst of dramatic changes that transformed the Balkans at the turn of the 20th Century: it attempts to explain how the ethnic and religious co-existence of different peoples during the Ottoman Empire ended with the rise of nationalism and conflict after almost four centuries.

“The Silent Balkans” includes rare archive footage from across Europe and the Balkans, and interviews with Mark Mazower (Columbia University), Christina Koulouri (Panteion University, Athens), Halil Berktay (Sabanci University, Istanbul), Irena Stefoska (Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopia), Machiel Kiel, Radina Vucetic (University of Belgrade), Frasher Demaj (Institute of History, Prishtina), Alexei Kalionski (University of Sofia) and Dimitris Livanios (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).

The film will be screened in the exhibition venues throughout the day. Specially organized screenings can be organized by contacting local partners or museum venues.

The film will also be distributed to schools, together with specially prepared lesson plans. It will also be broadcast by television channels across the Balkans, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Balkan Wars (2012-13).