VICE World of Sports airs on SBS VICELAND at 10.15 PM tonight."What happened before the Eternal Derby was some of the most senseless violence I have ever seen. It would be easy to label Serbians as a violent people given these events and their recent history. But in the personal conversations I had, I discovered a deeply proud culture still reeling from the fall out of their wars, and still dealing with the shame and reconciliation of their crimes."-Matt Halmy, producer, VICE World of SportsSerbia is one of six countries in the former Yugoslavia.
Population: 7,176,794
Currency: Serbian dinar; 1 USD=107.825 RSD
GDP per capita: $13,600 USD
Government: Parliamentary Republic
Prime Minister: Aleksandar Vučić (elected 2014)Independence: The Republic of Serbia was established in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, and consisted of a union of Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006, Montenegro seceded and they became two independent nations.Dan Bradley is a senior producer at VICE, working on VICE Sports content since 2014. He has produced shows for VICE such as Stay Melo (recently recognized as AdWeek's Best Web Series). Bradley was part of the crew in Serbia that filmed Episode 2 of the VICE World of Sports, the Eternal Derby. He talks to us about what it was like filming in the middle of a riot at Red Star Stadium.What was the most memorable part of filming that day in the stadium?Honestly the most memorable part of the day was the Partizan firm's march to the match. The firm, known as the Grobari, told us where they were gathering and the route their march would take, but warned us to keep our distance in front of the crowd. They said that if other members caught up to us they would, essentially, kick the shit out of us and smash our cameras. We took it seriously but thought they may have been puffing out their chests a bit. We started to set up and just saw hundreds of fans gathering until there was an army. We pretty quickly realized we were way out of our depth and decided to keep the same line as the police on horseback, which meant our whole crew would stand strong, grab the shots we could and then run to get a safe distance ahead before starting to shoot again. I'll never forget the adrenaline of that process as the Grobari quickly moved toward Red Star's stadium. It was a lot like a game of chicken and you could definitely sense the stakes.Did you ever feel like you were in danger?
There was a healthy sense of danger the whole day but never more than when the Partizan fan firm arrived at Red Star stadium. As they approached the gate to enter, the police tried to regulate the crowd and a riot erupted. Smoke grenades were thrown, there was a massive brawl and the police line broke. I remember looking at our director of photography Benji Lanpher and us both just kind of deciding we were going to stick it out and see what we could capture. We were both ready to sprint if the Partizan fans decided to stop fighting the police (and each other) and turned their attention towards us filming it all go down. Luckily that didn't happen.What are the challenges of trying to shoot during an event like that?
Honestly the whole thing is a bit of a challenge. The fan firms aren't too fond of cameras so Matt Halmy, the other producer on the project, and I probably spent most of the game as spotters for the cameramen. We would be in their ears telling them when road flares, firecrackers and smoke bombs were coming at them because they couldn't see outside of their camera monitors. By the end I was good enough at identifying them in the air that I wouldn't bother shouting out the smoke bombs, just the stuff that might have done some damage to us or the cameras.How does this shoot compare to other dangerous shoots you've had in the past?
I haven't been in too many dangerous situations (if my Mum is reading) but either way this was the first where being part of a camera crew made you a target. We essentially had giant bullseyes on our backs for the entire day of the match, and that made this situation especially unnerving.Obviously, VICE producers are known for their knack of getting into dangerous environments. What made you want to do this for a living?
There is something exciting about being able to tell stories other people can't or maybe don't want to. I think in the sports world you see a lot of the same tired narratives and you need to take some risks in order to change that. That's what we're trying to do with sports both digitally and on TV. It's a fun thing to be a part of.
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Serbia By The Numbers
Currency: Serbian dinar; 1 USD=107.825 RSD
GDP per capita: $13,600 USD
Government: Parliamentary Republic
Prime Minister: Aleksandar Vučić (elected 2014)Independence: The Republic of Serbia was established in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, and consisted of a union of Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006, Montenegro seceded and they became two independent nations.
Catching Up With…
There was a healthy sense of danger the whole day but never more than when the Partizan fan firm arrived at Red Star stadium. As they approached the gate to enter, the police tried to regulate the crowd and a riot erupted. Smoke grenades were thrown, there was a massive brawl and the police line broke. I remember looking at our director of photography Benji Lanpher and us both just kind of deciding we were going to stick it out and see what we could capture. We were both ready to sprint if the Partizan fans decided to stop fighting the police (and each other) and turned their attention towards us filming it all go down. Luckily that didn't happen.What are the challenges of trying to shoot during an event like that?
Honestly the whole thing is a bit of a challenge. The fan firms aren't too fond of cameras so Matt Halmy, the other producer on the project, and I probably spent most of the game as spotters for the cameramen. We would be in their ears telling them when road flares, firecrackers and smoke bombs were coming at them because they couldn't see outside of their camera monitors. By the end I was good enough at identifying them in the air that I wouldn't bother shouting out the smoke bombs, just the stuff that might have done some damage to us or the cameras.How does this shoot compare to other dangerous shoots you've had in the past?
I haven't been in too many dangerous situations (if my Mum is reading) but either way this was the first where being part of a camera crew made you a target. We essentially had giant bullseyes on our backs for the entire day of the match, and that made this situation especially unnerving.Obviously, VICE producers are known for their knack of getting into dangerous environments. What made you want to do this for a living?
There is something exciting about being able to tell stories other people can't or maybe don't want to. I think in the sports world you see a lot of the same tired narratives and you need to take some risks in order to change that. That's what we're trying to do with sports both digitally and on TV. It's a fun thing to be a part of.