By Sahar Dadjoo

From battlefield to hunting ground: How civilians became targets for sport in Bosnia

The Slovenian filmmaker says paid ‘sniper tourists’ treated civilians as subhuman, exposing a hidden atrocity of the 1992–96 siege

TEHRAN- In an exclusive conversation with the Tehran Times, Miran Zupanič, the Slovenian director behind the revelatory documentary “Sarajevo Safari,” delves into one of the most disturbing and little-known episodes of the Bosnian War. His 2022 film uncovers shocking testimonies suggesting that, during the siege of Sarajevo (1992–1996), wealthy foreign “sniper-tourists” paid to shoot civilians from Bosnian Serb positions. With painstaking research and courage, Zupanič brings to light the shadowy phenomenon of “man-hunting,” exploring how cruelty, commerce and war intersected in a city under siege. In this interview, he reflects on his journey from skepticism to conviction, the resistance he faced, and the moral urgency that drove him to expose this haunting chapter of modern history.