CONVERSATIONS WITH EMERGING BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILMMAKERS: HARUN MEHMEDINOVIC

By Amra Turalic

19 March 2007

This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Harun Mehmedinovic, a promising Bosnian-American filmmaker and a graduate of the prestigious University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Theater, Film and Television with a B.A. in Screenwriting and Theater Directing, who is currently in his last year at the American Film Institute (AFI). Before UCLA, Harun worked as a freelance designer, winning several international awards in Web and graphic design, including recognition from the US Senate in 1998. During his four years at UCLA, Harun directed several short films and participated in over twenty films as a director of photography. His latest short film, "In the Name of the Son," will be screened at the Fourth Annual Bosnian Herzegovinian Film Festival. Below are the details from our conversation.

Tell me a little about your background. At what age did you come to United States and where did you first live?

I was about 13 when I got to the U.S. in 1996, right around the time Dayton Agreement was signed. I ended up in Phoenix, Arizona, which was as different from Sarajevo as you could imagine, but being a fan of Tex Willer and the whole western genre, I was excited to see the places I've only read about up until that point: Tombstone, Grand Canyon, and the Sonora desert.

What drew you to film in the first place? Was this something you were always interested in? How did your creative thinking evolve?

I was a huge fan of comic books, especially of Sergio Bonelli's Dylan Dog, Zagor and Tex. I started off by drawing comics during the war. During the four years of the siege of Sarajevo, I was under constant fear for my own life, and I spent my days in almost total isolation from the outside world. I developed a need to document and testify my experiences to the rest of the world by telling them through stories. Comic books were the first step, but their static nature awoke in me an interest in film.

I think the most horrifying aspect of my experience of war was all of the sounds, such as a whistling sound of a grenade passing overhead. My comic books depicted simple stories from the war, but the silence of static pictures could not do what I wanted: to precisely transfer the sound of war that is the sound of the whistling grenade, the horrible sound which lets one await the explosion.

During rare days when there was electricity in the city, I watched movies. One movie that fascinated me was Das Boot, a German story about a submarine in which sound is the dominating element. All of the highly effective tension in the film centered on the sounds such as pinging sonar, which made the characters await the bombs, which could explode and destroy the submarine. The feeling of defenselessness and inability to resist is very similar to the war situation in which I lived in, sitting in one room, in a city being bombarded. Partially because of that film, I made a decision very early in my life to tell my stories and experiences by means of film.

In Nomad, your graphic novel, you compare your trip to Los Angeles to the constant struggle of the Amish to find a new land. You say "Their struggle reminded me of my own, my need to find a new home...Like Amish, I was looking for a new home, and I became convinced that film was the means of doing that." Can you explain that thought?

Having never settled in one place ever in my life, I've never developed any roots, at least not to the point where I can point to any particular place as my home. I view myself as more of a citizen of the world. When I said that film was means of finding a home, I meant that it may be the way to establish certain roots, as virtual are they may seem. Film is a nomad's medium. You travel a lot, you tell stories about different cultures, different places, and each project is a whole new experience. I think this combination of fiction (films) and non-fiction (my life) will eventually add up to something that I can tangibly point to and say: that is my home.

What are the major influences that helped shape your work? Are there any particular filmmakers or films that you are particularly indebted to?

I like John Carpenter a lot, being a fan of the Western genre. He practically invented the modern Westerns and kept the genre alive by combining it with Science Fiction. He got me interested I doing film. I connected with the comic-book quality of his movies. On the other side of the spectrum, I think Werner Herzog fearlessness is another inspiration. No other filmmaker has been as prolific or as successful doing fiction films and documentaries while getting what he wanted out of all his projects. Also, Francis Ford Coppola, who is by far the best of the American new wave filmmakers. I am proud to say I went to the same theater and film program he did at UCLA.

Tell me a little bit about your inspiration for "In the Name of the Son." How did the story idea come to you and how did it evolve?

I started off wanting to make a film about the immigrant experience in the United States: the clash of the old vs. the new world. As immigrants, most of us bring something from our past and are not willing to let go of it. A lot of the old world grudges are fought over on the streets of America. In this case, I thought of a basic setup for the story early on, the idea of a father killing his son, because of another fascination of mine, which is the loss of individuality in war. I think most people are capable of being indoctrinated into an ideology so much that we forget that we are human beings, and only to realize, after the fact, what we have done. Even though the idea of a father killing his son is hard to stomach for most people, you can't deny that it happens during the war (and sometimes during peace). It happened in Bosnia, it happens in the Middle East, it happened during the American Civil War, it's been happening since the beginning of time. Humans are complicated beings. We often do things we can't imagine we're capable of doing, good and bad, when we are put in a certain position. I wanted to deal with this subject in a way where there is some hope left at the end, and it's not all as grim as it seems.

What are your distribution plans for "In the Name of the Son"?

Since it's a short film, my distribution channels are limited. I will try to show the film at the festivals around the world and hopefully get a chance to turn this project into a feature-length film, or as a way to jumpstart another project.


Scene from "In the name of the son"

What projects are you working on currently?

 I am currently working on developing "In the Name of the Son" into a feature length film. As the story takes place both in the United States and Bosnia, this project has more international appeal then most films that deal with this subject. Considering the scope of the story, a feature length treatment is the only way to do it justice.

What projects do you have planned in the near- and long-term?

I am planning to do a project, which centers around comic books in the United States during the 1950s. The wave of censorship (as well as red scare witch hunting) that hit the film industry back then also impacted the comics, which were thought of as dangerous and subversive.

Will you continue to work on the topic of Bosnia or are there other themes you are hoping to explore?

I think many people would like to know more about Bosnia, but they have a hard time understanding the mentality and the complex history of the region, which makes it nearly impossible for most movies about Bosnia to have international success. I am interested in telling more universal stories, no matter where they take place. "In the Name of the Son" is more of a Biblical story; it has elements of a Greek tragedy. This film is not dependent on understanding the politics of the region, just human nature.   

What is your top five list of favorite films?

Top five… It's something that changes depending on my mood…. Besides the obvious ones, I would have to say Alain Resnais' "Night and Fog," a documentary; Tewfik Saleh's "The Dupes," a Syrian film from early 70s; Peter Weir's "Picnic at Hanging Rock," which messes with my head every time I watch it; Steve James' "Hoop Dreams" and "Das Boot". I also like F.W. Murnau's "Sunrise," George Sluizer's original Dutch version of "The Vanishing" and Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas"…. That's already more then five.

What lessons, if any, can other filmmakers gain from Bosnian cinematography?

Bosnian cinematography is unusually strong for such a small country with no more then two or three films produced a year. There is a rich history of quality filmmaking coming from the region, especially during the 70s and 80s. What makes it unique is a certain dark sense of humor and strong characters, which feel like people, not cardboard cutouts. I think a lot of people connect with these films. If there is one lesson to be learned, then it is perseverance. That region of the world has gone through a lot in the last twenty years, and the fact that we came back strong after being down says a lot about the human spirit.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

It's pretty simple yet hard to do: have your own voice and don't try to fit into a system. Millions of people want to be filmmakers, especially in the day and age of digital cameras and Final Cut Pro, so the only way to stand out from the crowd is to have a unique point of view.