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THE ANNUAL BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK CITY WRAPS UP ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR; ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

New York City, May 30, 2016 - The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City is excited to announce the winners of the Golden Apple Awards for the 13th annual event!

I Can Speak (Ja mogu da govorim) a Mirza Skenderagićfilm exploring the lives of four people with speech impediments, won the BHFF 2016 Golden Apple Award for Best Documentary. 

Damaged Goods (Kalo), a Nermin Hamzagić film about a young man who struggles to express his feelings for young woman he becomes infatuated with, won the BHFF 2016 Golden Apple Award for Best Short Film. 

Tigers, a film by Danis Tanović set in Pakistan about a man who risks everything to fight corruption at a global corporation, won the BHFF 2016 Golden Apple Award for Best Feature. 

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Our Everyday Life (Naša svakodnevna priča), a poignant film by Ines Tanović that offers a powerful snapshot into the lives of a modern Bosnian family, won the BHFF 2016 Audience Award for Best Picture. Our Everyday Life also received special recognition from the BHFF Jury in the feature film category.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"It's our extraordinary honor to receive the award at the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York. There's no greater award for the author when the tastes of the jury and the audiences agree. With Our Everyday Life, that's exactly what happened. Special mention from the jury means recognition for our work from our peers and the profession. From the audience, we received very positive reactions and comments and the audience award confirms that. For me, as an author, all of this means that I must persevere and continue to prepare and work on new projects."

Ines Tanovic

2016 BHFF Audience Award for Best Picture - 2016 BHFF Special Jury Mention for Best Feature Film

"This is my first award at a professional festival and that speaks enough about how much it means to me, and how much power it has to open some new doors for me and my career, especially since I see myself more as a playwright, than a filmmaker. Also, the success is bigger because the competition was very strong and I'm very pleased that so many good films came out of BiH last year. I want to thank the organizers of the BHFF as well for selecting my film into the final program. I want to congratulate them on the 13th annual edition of the festival, which not only thrives, but grows each year, in a time when other festivals are shutting down. I want to thank the jury too, with Elma Tataragic as the head. Tataragic is one of the main people from BiH who is responsible for making BH cinematography successful and important in the world. Film is one of the things of best quality that Bosnia has to offer."

Mirza Skenderagic

2016 BHFF Jury Award for Best Documentary Film

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Films receiving Jury Awards were selected by the official BHFF 2016 Jury, an expert panel comprising of Elma Tataragić, a scriptwriter, producer, general secretary of the Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia-Herzegovina; filmmaker, educator and author Annette Danto; and scholar of film and literature Nataša Milas.

Congratulations to the winners!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A total of 19 films screened Wednesday through Saturday, May 25 through May 28, 2016 at two Manhattan venues. 

Our program this year consisted of four blockbuster features, nine documentaries and six short films, including an animated film. We are proud to announce that the program featured works by eight women directors.


We kicked things off with BH Film Forum program on Wednesday, May 25 at Anthology Film Archives, the place which hosted our second and third annual BHFF editions back in 2005 and 2006. The evening included the screenings of five films as part of our non-competition program, as well as a special panel presentationfeaturing Bosnian-Herzegovinian and international film professionals and cinema experts. The panel included Elma Tataragić, Ines Tanović, scholar of cinema and cultural studies Dijana Jelača and filmmaker and multimedia artist Amir Husak.

 

Then, from Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28, the action moved to SVA Theatre for a jam-packed, three-day marathon of screenings featuring the 2016 BHFF competition selections and Q&A with the director of Our Everyday Life, Ines Tanović, film’s producer Alem Babić and actor Uliks Fehmiu. Discussion was led by Dijana Jelača. 

In 2016, the BHFF is very proud and honored to have developed a much stronger relationship with the Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia-Herzegovina/Udruženje Filmskih Radnika Bosne i Hercegovine (UFRBiH). This year’s festival was supported by both UFRBiH and Foundation of Cinematography Sarajevo. UFRBiH was also the co-curator of the ‘BH Film Forum’ panel. 

This year’s festival screened the largest number of films in its 13-year history. The year 2016 was also significant as it marked the first time ever the festival expanded from three to four days. 

The festival also received close to 60 submissions this year, the highest number ever. 

The BHFF is entirely non-for-profit and completely run by a tirelessly dedicated team of volunteers who do it all out of love. We are always very grateful for the support of our friends and audience! If you’d like to make a donation today to support the BHFF, please visit our sponsorship page to make your tax-deductible and secure donation. Thank you!

Those interested in sponsoring the BHFF or a particular film/block should contact Damir Pozderac:damir@bhffnyc.org.

For the latest updates and other items of interest, check out our Twitter account @BHFFNYC, Facebook page, Instagram @BHFFNYC, and Google+ under Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival. Our official website is another great resource for information about films screened, our history and mission, and ways to help out. 

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