A total of 15 films will screen at the 2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF), along with a series of Q&A and discussion panels with filmmakers. The festival will run from Wednesday, April 11 through Saturday, April 14 at two Manhattan venues.
The BHFF will kick off with a special event on Wednesday, April 11, with a screening and discussion panel at Anthology Film Archives before moving to the SVA Theatre for three exciting nights featuring screenings, events with with filmmakers, and much more.
This year’s program will feature the work of 7 women directors, and brings to New York City both innovative young filmmakers, as well as established regional names including renowned director and screenwriter Aida Begić, and legendary actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović.
The fifteenth annual BHFF and will consist of five narrative feature films, four narrative shorts and six documentary films. All films selected to screen at the 15th Annual BHFF program are eligible to win a number of honors including the Golden Apple audience and jury awards. Films in competition are:
FEATURE FILMS
Birds Like Us | Faruk Šabanović, Amela Ćuhara | 84 min
A group of birds are unceremoniously evicted from their home tree after a brave couple attempts to disrupt the community’s unique and unsettling social contract. Featuring Oscar winners Jeremy Irons and Alicia Vikander, and music by Peter Gabriel.
The Frog (Žaba) | Elmir Jukić | 78 Minutes
Zeko, a barber and a veteran, finds himself prone to violent fits resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder. Zeko attempts to reassemble the pieces of his life by reaching out to his brother Braco, who struggles with his own demons.
Men Don’t Cry (Muškarci ne plaču) | Alen Drljević | 98 Minutes
Twenty years after the conclusion of the Bosnian War, a diverse group of men meet to discuss their experiences and process the events that shaped their lives decades ago.
Never Leave Me (Bırakma Beni) | Aida Begić | 97 min
A group of young Syrian children try to overcome war trauma, and adjust to refugee life in Turkey.
Nothing but the Wind (Ništa, samo vjetar) | Timur Makarević | 87 min
If home is where the heart is, Bosnian-born Swede Vedran is conflicted about both. Forced to revisit his hometown of Sarajevo 18 years after departing, he must accept the changes the visit brings to him.
SHORT FILMS
Great Wall of China (Kineski zid) | Aleksandra Odić | 36 min
The legacy of the conflicts of the 1990s lurks in the background of a family gathering in the Bosnian countryside, as experienced by Maja, a young girl.
Hedgehog’s Home (Ježeva kućica) | Eva Cvijanović | 10 min
An interpretation of Branko Ćopić’s story of the same name, this animated short focuses on a hedgehog who is both envied and respected by other animals. Hedgehog’s Home is narrated by Rade Šerbedžija of Eyes Wide Shut, and Mission impossible: 2.
Pink Elephant | Ado Hasanović | 17 min
A secret suddenly breaks open when a daughter returns home from abroad, in this laugh-out-loud funny short about generational clashes.
Stalemate | Amir Karagić | 13 min
Mike, a middle-aged chef from Amsterdam, sits down to a game of chess with his estranged millennial son. A power battle ensues.
Winter Sun (Zimsko sunce) | Pilar Palomero | 37 min
Nana, who is eighty years old, is in need of a surgery. To have it, she and her husband must leave their home in the small village of Hrsa, in this an intimate look at this couple’s struggles to navigate a daunting healthcare system.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Što te nema | Rialda Zukić | 8 min
This documentary reflects on the recent incarnation in Boston’s iconic Copley Square of Što te nema, a “nomadic monument” held each July 11 that is dedicated to the 8,372 victims of the Srebrenica genocide.
Scream for Me Sarajevo | Tarik Hodžić | 95 min
A look back at the 1994 Iron Maiden concert in Sarajevo and what it took to make it happen as the city and its inhabitants were struggling through the three-year siege.
To Be Far (Biti daleko) | Samira Kameli, Sajra Subašić | 9 min
Samira, a documentarian from Iran, has traveled to Sarajevo to make a film. Attempting to connect with the country and its people, she seeks out others who have traveled great distances to be there, but encounters difficulties upon attempting to film at a refugee center.
Two Schools (Dvije škole) | Srđan Šarenac | 43 min
This documentary explores the Travnik Gymnasium, which, following the war in Bosnia, has been divided into two separate schools that share the same building. The annual Christmas football tournament is the only time when children from both sides of the school get a chance to interact with one another.
Undercovered | Nejra Latić Hulušić, Sabrina Begović-Čorić | 53 min
Undercovered deals with six young Bosnian women from different spheres of life who decide to wear the headscarf as expression of their religion and identity.
Winter Sun (Zimsko sunce) | Pilar Palomero | 37 min
Nana, who is eighty years old, is in need of a surgery. To have it, she and her husband must leave their home in the small village of Hrsa, in this an intimate look at this couple’s struggles to navigate a daunting healthcare system.
The BHFF also presents a jury award for Best Acting Performance, awarded to an actor or actress in a lead or supporting role in any of the narrative short and feature films. The festival extend the following nominations for the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance to:
Emir Hadžihafizbegović, lead actor in the role of Zeko in The Frog
Ermin Bravo, lead actor in the role of Ahmed in Men Don’t Cry
Elena Matić, lead actress in the role of Maja in Great Wall of China
Boris Glibusić, lead actor in the role of Vedran in Nothing but the Wind
Izudin Bajrović, supporting actor in the role of Sead in Pink Elephant
Jasna Žalica, supporting actress in the role of Zlata in Pink Elephant
Isa Demlakhi, lead actor in the role of Isa in Never Leave Me
Emir Hadžihafizbegović, lead actor in the role of Merim in Men Don’t Cry
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