World premiere of the “Blue Heart“ film on dam wall in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Konjic, April 29 2018. Against the spectacular backdrop of the Idbar dam wall in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the film “Blue Heart” was screened for the very first time last night. About 500 people visited the world premiere of the film, which documents the fight against the dam tsunami in the Balkans and the effort to protect these unique rivers in Europe. The 40-minute documentary supports the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” and centers around the opposition against hydropower projects in Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, e.g. the women of Kruščica, who have been keeping a construction site occupied for over 220 days and nights. “Blue Heart” was produced by Farm League on behalf of outdoor outfitter Patagonia. It has been translated in 14 languages and will be shown at over 500 locations around the world. Watch the trailer HERE.

Patagonia has also started a petition which calls on international banks to stop investing in hydropower development in the Balkans.

Among others, further screenings will take place in Zagreb (May 1), Belgrade (May, 3), Rome, (May 4), Skopje, (May 5) und Tirana (May 6). Find all screenings in all locations around the world HERE.

The Idbar dam was chosen deliberately for the location of the premiere due to its history:  Build in 1959, the dam cracked soon after its construction. Investors and construction crews had ignored multiple warnings from the locals. Idbar was decommissioned soon after it was constructed. Residents then broke through the dam wall to give the river back its freedom.

Background information

• This is a joint press release by Riverwatch, EuroNatur, and the Center of Environment
• Find more information about the film on the website “The dam truth”
• The film ‘Blue Heart’ supports the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign, which aims to protect the most valuable rivers in the Balkans from a dam tsunami of about 2,800 planned projects. The campaign is coordinated by the NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur and carried out together with partner organisations in the Balkan countries. In Bosnia & Herzegovina, the local partner is Center for Environment. Find more information at http://balkanrivers.net/

Further information

Jelena Ivanić – lokale Kampagnenkoordinatorin in BiH, Center for Environment
jelena.ivanic@czzs.org, +387/65779467

Cornelia Wieser, Kampagnenkoordinatorin, Riverwatch
cornelia.wieser@riverwatch.eu, +43 650 4544784

Theresa Schiller, Kampagnenkoordinatorin, EuroNatur
theresa.schiller@euronatur.org; +49 7732 927212