From eleven To 18 August, Eastern magazine followed the twenty-ninth issue Sarajevo Film Festival. Was born in 1995 after the war, ever since fulcrum from cultural life Bosnian capital. Every year thousands of visitors, filmmakers and artists they crowd Sarajevo attend daily screenings and previews. Despite the worldly atmosphere, 2023 edition it was also marked by forts controversy.
Kiss the Future: Punk and daring soul of a city under siege
SFF opened with the long-awaited premiere of the film “kiss the future” From Nenad Chichin-Shain and produced Matt Damon, Sarah Anthony AND Ben Affleck. intertwined in the film resistance contemptuously and only among citizens Sarajevo and the city’s music scene, with the events that led in 1997 to the performance U2 on the stage Koshevo.
There movie is a product stories ordinary people, musicians and journalists who decided to do their own thing creativity AND resourcefulness tool resistance and from struggle. There was no shortage of unpublished testimonies of the punk scene under siege, from Enes Zlatar, Siktar frontman and firefighter by day, to the world of journalism with Senad Zaimović and his wife, Vesna.
Their stories will intersect with history Bill CarterAmerican volunteer who came to Sarajevo With Serious Journey. First, Sarajevo and its people will take part in the concerts of the U2 Zooropa tour, and then the band itself will come to Sarajevo in 1997 for a historic concert that officially marked the end of the Bosnian war.
Cinema as a moment of confrontation of society
Along with Kiss the Future, many others were featured. movie products in Bosnia and the rest Balkans. SFF acquires a unique and transversal collective value. Crossing generations, the festival brings the best of life to the community. production regional art and International. In this way, screenings allow viewers to discuss various topics and messages.
Among the hundreds of films shown, they found a place Topics connected with the world LGBTQIA+ with headers like “Women” From Sam X. Freeman AND Ng Chun Ping AND “Orlando, but a political autobiography” From Paul B. Preciado. From touching topics like migration along Balkan route And anxiety new generations due to lack of life prospects in Bosnia with a collection of short films”Omnibus: What does BiH mean to you?“ created by Anwar Niemcevic, Mina Vawan, Isidora Ratkovic and Ilija Puich.
A subject especially meaning for the public it was a sequel war in Ukraine. The documentary was highly acclaimed.”We won’t disappearAlisa Kovalenko reportage experience from the lives of four young people boys Ukrainians from Donbass. In addition, through the filmFrom Bosnia with loveBenjamin Young, the screen showed the anxieties and fears of ordinary people of the country, upset by the return war V Europe and from the never slumbering rhetoric nationalist V Bosnia.
Organizational gaps and vulnerabilities are ignored
Since its discovery Sarajevo Film Festival was affected strong controversy. Despite pressure from part of public opinion, femicide From GradacacWhere Nizama Khecimovich her ex-husband killed her No It has found right space. The organization has been criticized for not giving enough voice to a dramatic topical issue in Bosnia.
The movie has finally been screened.Heroes of Halyard” From Radosh Bayic it was a reason for strong embarrassment towards SFF. Film distributed Cinelink and financed Serbian Ministry of Defense and fromSerbian armyglorifies the figure Draza Mihajlovicmovement leader Chetniks during The Second World War. Mikhailovich was responsible for war crimes against the Muslim and Croatian population during the Nazi-fascist occupation Yugoslavia. This prompted numerous criticisms, including calls for the leadership to step down as mayor. Benjamina Karic. The festival’s artistic directors responded by distancing themselves, stating that the promotion of the film was outside the festival’s official boundaries.
Mirror Country Festival
Despite the critical problems that have arisen, the Sarajevo Film Festival, like every year, confirms itself: occasion not to be missed for dive V culture and in the work of Sarajevo. Films shown to the general public are an invaluable product of a society that, despite decades of corruption and political incompetence, continues to come to terms with its past and Look To future with the same vivacity and hope as thirty years ago.
Author’s photo