The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City announced the lineup of 13 films for its 2019 edition, which also includes a series of Q&A and discussion panels with filmmakers, running from Wednesday, April 10 through Saturday, April 13 at SVA Theatre, in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
This year’s program is incredibly diverse and tackles a range of important social and cultural themes, including family and intergenerational dynamics in contemporary Bosnia, institutional dysfunction and corruption and its effects, and the experiences and perseverance of women. Additionally, BHFF will present a 30th anniversary screening of Ademir Kenović’s 1989 film Kuduz -one of the most legendary Bosnian films, and one of the last great movies made in Yugoslavia.
The films screening at the sixteenth annual BHFF are:
FEATURE FILMS
The Chaotic Life of Nada Kadić (Kaoticni život Nade Kadić)
Marta Hernaiz Pidal | 85 min
Nada Kadić, a single mother who just found out that her daughter is on the autistic spectrum, embarks on a journey through the Balkans in search of peace with her past and acceptance of her new reality.
A Good Day’s Work (Dobar dan za posao)
Martin Turk | 76 min
Armin, increasingly desperate for a job after a series of mishaps, becomes the security guard for a slaughterhouse. On his first day, he learns that his coworkers are stealing from the owner. He decides to do the right thing–but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
All Alone (Sam samcat)
Bobo Jelcić | 88 min
Divorced father Marko is surrounded by family, friends, co-workers, and neighborhood fixers, yet is driven to the brink by limited contact with the person he loves most – his daughter. He starts legal proceedings to get more time with his child, and enters the Kafkaesque world of a social-services system in meltdown.
SHORT FILMS
The Invisible Hand of Adam Smith (Nevidljiva Roka Adama Smitha)
Slobodan Maksimović | 15 min
Somewhere in Europe a Greek owes to a French, who owes to a Slovenian and she owes to an Italian, who owes money to the Greek. A German owes no one, she just wants to get a good night’s sleep. The Brit is looking for an exit.
Luck (Sreća)
Nedim Karalić | 26 min
Armin’s life is stable, but unfulfilling. To bring about some excitement, he visits the betting shop, where his lover Selma works, and places long-shot bets. Everything becomes unpredictable when one day he actually wins, starting with his loss of the winning ticket and nightlong search to find it.
Nomophobia (Nomofobia)
Ado Hasanović | 14 min
After a terrible parent-teacher meeting, Maria tries to put her daughter Jessica back on track. But there is a third wheel interfering in their chat: Jessica’s phone, with which the girl is totally absorbed. Maria decides to grab the phone, setting off a chain of unpredictable consequences.
Rooster (Pivac)
Sabrina Begović Ćorić | 15 min
On International Women’s Day, police inspector Danijel is ready to reveal his romantic feelings to his colleague Stella, while Anđa, a victim of domestic violence, is ready to finally report her abuser to the police. While trying to help Anđa with her struggles, Danijel realizes he could miss a chance to carry out his plan.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs (Musej zaboravljenih trijuma)
Bojan Bodruzić | 85 min
After being evacuated as a child in 1992, Vancouver-based filmmaker Bojan Bodružić returned to Sarajevo in 2000 and began to film his grandparents. Charming and spirited, the elderly couple share their experiences, starting with WWII and ending with the Bosnian War, even insisting that their grandson finish the film as they fall ill in their twilight years.
Danuša’s Mara (Danušina Mara)
Davor Borić | 31 min
Marica Filipović, known as Danuša’s Mara, is almost single-handedly preserving folk music in central Bosnia and Herzegovina by playing traditional instruments and teaching others about them. This documentary explores her public persona and invites others to interrogate the public role of women in Bosnian society, and the value of musical traditions.
Srbenka
Nebojsa Slijepcević | 70 min
This documentary explores the implications of a historical event, the murder of Aleksandra Zec, a 12-year old Croatian Serb girl on the eve of the conflict in Croatia through a controversial play on the subject. As the actors prepare for the play, lingering wounds are revealed.
Reprise/Response (Repriza/Uzvraćanje)
Damir Avdagić | 23 min
Four fifty-something-year-old people of Balkan origin read a transcript of a conversation between four twenty-something people, also of Balkan origin, who discuss the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and the friction they experience between their own and their parents’ generation relating to this history. The participants then react to the content by commenting on the guilt, shame, and legacy of communism in the wake of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
Sisters (Sestre)
Zdenko Jurilj | 41 min
Herzegovina was in the grips of an unusually harsh winter on the snowy morning in 1985 when teenage sisters Sima and Drazenka decided to walk to Mostar to help their mother at work. In the blizzard, the sisters fell into a deep pit, where they lay for the next eight days before being found, barely alive. This black-and-white documentary explores their incredible story.
RETROSPECTIVE
Kuduz
Ademir Kenović | 105 min
The vivacious young Badema meets Bećir Kuduz shortly after his release from prison; their attraction is mutual and powerful, and the age difference and other complications can’t stop them from marrying and starting a new life together. But Badema is not meant to be a housewife, and Kuduz longs for such an arrangement. The two of them argue, break up, and make up, until their story takes a tragic turn.
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