BHFF NYC Pres 4: The Partisan Necropolis +Q&A w filmmaker Chris Leslie

In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Partisan Memorial Cemetery—once a striking tribute to Yugoslav fighters who resisted Nazi-aligned forces—now stands shattered, defaced, and engulfed in political controversy. Built between 1959 and 1965 by renowned architect Bogdan Bogdanović, the site has become a powerful flashpoint in a society grappling with the resurgence of right-wing revisionism. The documentary traces the cemetery’s transformation from a celebrated monument to a target of neo-fascist destruction, culminating in the 2022 attack that obliterated hundreds of engraved stone markers. While many local leaders and institutions dismiss the memorial as a relic of a bygone ideology, a small group of families refuses to let their loved ones’ legacies be erased. Their fight to preserve the site—and what it represents—anchors a broader examination of how histories are rewritten and weaponized.

Followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Chris Leslie.

This screening is co-sponsored by the .

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival