ABOUT 1ST ANNUAL BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILM FESTIVAL - 2003
The First annual BHFF™ was held at the Pioneer Theatre in Manhattan's East Village. It was officially opened by Bosnian director Benjamin Filipović on Friday, October 24, 2003. The opening screening was a feature film "Remake" by Dino Mustafić. All screenings included a short and a feature film. The photography exhibit by Sara Terry "Aftermath" and artwork by Bosnian teenagers "Aftershock" were also shown.
Benjamin Filipović is a winner of the Grand Prix of Europe for Best Short Film, Barcelona, 1997. He is a former President of the Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia, a Member of the European Film Academy, and Professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Sarajevo and Tuzla. One of his most notable films is Mizaldo, End of Theater / Mizaldo, Kraj Teatra (1994), a drama and documentary about war, people and art in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The First annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival was held on October 24, 25 and 26, 2003, and was organized by the following organizations and individuals:
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Voice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inc.
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Columbia University Harriman Center for Human Rights
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Dr. Džemaludin Harba
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Almir Lucević
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Damir Pozderac
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Darko Jelisić
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Iris Kulasić
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Jasna Hasović
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Leila Rachidi
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Selma Subašić
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Ilhan Ramić
With special thanks to Vesna Loney for technical support and ultimatemotion.com for web hosting.
BHFF 2003 PROGRAM
SUMMER IN THE GOLDEN VALLEY
(Ljeto u zlatnoj dolini)
2003 | Srđan Vuletić | 105 min
Feature
Fikret Varupa would be just an ordinary sixteen-year-old boy from Sarajevo, had it not been for an incredible stroke of bad luck. At the traditional Muslim funeral service for his father, he learns that his father owes money to Hamid, a man he does not even know. Wishing to repay his father's debt and to secure forgiveness, Fikret wanders into the real world of Sarajevo, the world ruled by post-war chaos, misery and poverty.
NORTH WENT MAD
(Sjever je poludio)
2003 | Aida Begić | 19 min
Short Fiction
An eighteen-year-old girl was murdered during a football match. After the murder her body travels from hand to hand. Everyone who gets in touch with the corps thinks that he was the one who murdered her. In the meantime, back at home, Selma's mother is finishing her prom dress.
10 MINUTES
(10 minuta)
2002 | Ahmed Imamović | 10 min
Short Fiction
The short film "Deset Minuta" juxtaposes the experiences of a carefree tourist and a hopeless child in Bosnia. The film relates the story of a tourist vacationing in Rome, who is amazed by the fact that photographs can be developed in ten minutes. The time passes quickly for this tourist. Yet for a Bosnian child living in a country shattered by war, the same ten minutes seem to last an eternity.
REMAKE
2003 | Dino Mustafić | 103 min
Feature
Tragic stories of father and son are interwoven with refinement. With an interval of fifty years in between, the film brings the experience of the start of a war in Sarajevo. "Remake" tells three tragic stories in one. Remake is however more than a war film. It is also a coming-of-age drama, with scenes in which Ahmed and Tarik (with an intervening period of fifty years) go out with their friends, have fun, fall in love. The restrained acting, the flowing transitions between the flashbacks and the clever cutting make "Remake" a penetrating film experience.
KUDUZ
1989 | Ademir Kenović | 105 min
Feature
After the release from prison, small-time criminal marries his girlfriend and lives a straight and poor, but happy life with her and her daughter. However, his happiness is shattered by wife's infidelity. Driven mad by jealousy, he kills her and her lover and runs into mountains, thus escaping law for years. This film is based on the true story about Junuz Keco, the last Bosnian outlaw. Kuduz was awarded the Felix Award for Best Film, Best Leading Actress and Best Music. The Special Prize of the Jury was awarded to this film for "its new spirit coming from Sarajevo."