Page - 81 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 02/01

Activist Citizenship, Film and Peacebuilding | 81www.jrfm.eu 2016, 2/1, 73–89 a non-linear way, for it does not focus on the event itself or on the political aspects of the story, but looks instead at the effects of the tragic event on the characters. Gol- ubovic’s non-linear approach, combined with cold colours and slow, measured takes, typically of lone individuals or deserted landscapes, enabled a focus on the charac- ter’s individual plight, for by breaking with the temporal dimensions of human inter- action, Golubovic was able to explore the divide between “myself” and “the Other”. The aesthetic forces active spectatorship by generating a pensive mood that in addi- tion to serving as a point for reflection – for filmmaker and spectator alike – enriches the borderless space of Circles by revealing a paradox: characters and ideas are prod- ucts of human belonging and time, but the film’s aesthetic employs an extratemporal unidentifiable “space” precisely to subvert the imposed identitarian ideologies that led to the conflict. This story, the director has said, moved him on a personal level and inspired him to explore the ripple effect of Srdjan’s act, “a heroic deed” that was not calculable, not even political we might say, because Srdjan had only moments to de- cide how to act. Although this act was not premeditated or intended to be political, as an act of self-sacrifice it inevitably became so. By protecting his neighbour’s life Srdjan became a symbol of the activist citizen, and his deed has relevance and importance in the present day. This, however, is not what intrigued the director, who was drawn instead to the questions of what it means to be human and whether a good deed has meaning and significance in reality. Through his film, Golubovic explores not only the “circles” of turmoil and the regret of each character engaged in this tragic event, but also “circles as a ripple effect” of a good deed and its effect on others. Golubovic also explores the theme of forgiveness. He is interested in the possibil- ity of restoring peace on two levels: peace within and peace with one’s neighbour. By depicting the main characters from behind, the director visualises through camera shots the burden that all the characters carry; equally the camera records the same scene from different perspectives in order to provide clarity.52 The difficult process of forgiveness and reconciliation in which the meaning and effect of Srdjan’s act is requestioned is embodied in his father’s “Sisyphus work”,53 which takes place after Srdjan’s murder. The father is rebuilding a church on a hill, carrying it stone-by-stone from one site to another. The site of the church becomes a symbolic expression of the father’s own struggle to understand his son’s act and of his ability to reconcile with and forgive his son’s murderers. 52 Paraphrased; see “Circles by Srdan Golubovic”, Empty Kingdom, http://www.emptykingdom.com/ featured/circles-krugovi-%E2%95%B3-srdan-golubovic/ [accessed 28 April 2016]. 53 Srdan Golubovic: Moja lična pobeda, VREME 1155, 21 February 2013 / KULTURA http://www.vreme.com/ cms/view.php?id=1099587&print=yes [accessed 28 April 2016].