Two gatherings, one against and one in favor of awarding the City of Zagreb Award to Jakov Sedlar, were held on Wednesday in front of the Old City Hall, where city representatives will decide on this proposal from the Committee for Public Recognition at the last meeting of this term of the City Assembly.
A group supporting the awarding of the City of Zagreb Award to director Jakov Sedlar arrived with flags of the Republic of Croatia, while the opposing group displayed a banner reading “Enough of Ustasha.”
Against the Award for Sedlar
About ten activists from the coalition Zagreb is Ours!, New Left, and Workers’ Front protested against the proposal to award Jakov Sedlar the City of Zagreb Award. On their behalf, Rada Borić told Hina that they gathered in front of the City Assembly to protest or at least send a message to those who will vote on this proposal today. “We believe that Jakov Sedlar has falsified the truth and does not deserve the award,” she stated. “We know that Mayor Milan Bandić did this intentionally to award the City of Zagreb Award to a man we know has falsified the truth,” Borić said.
The protesters against the award for Sedlar said that they did not gather more people because a larger gathering would need to be reported to the police.
In Favor of the Award for Sedlar
In contrast to them, in front of the City Assembly was another group of Zagreb residents who came to support the proposal for Jakov Sedlar to receive the City of Zagreb Award. On behalf of this group, Zorica Gregurić told Hina that they came spontaneously when they heard yesterday that this proposal would be on the agenda of today’s assembly meeting. “We came here to support our celebrated Croatian director, a man who has received numerous awards and who has made films on topics that many have avoided due to their sensitive nature. He bravely tackled this theme and truly objectively portrayed the situation, substantiating his portrayal with documentation and facts,” Gregurić emphasized.
