The 21st edition of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City, taking place from Wednesday, April 23rd through Saturday, April 26th at the SVA Theatre in New York City, will feature a lineup of twelve films in the official competition program.

They include new films by Academy Award winner (Danis Tanović), Oscar-nominated director and winner of numerous European Academy Awards (Jasmila Žbanić), and a recent Oscar-nominated film and winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for Best Short Film (The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, by Nebojša Slijepčević). Producer Amra Bakšić Čamo will be awarded a special Golden Apple for Outstanding Contributions to BH Film.

“We are excited to share this year’s program with our ever devoted festival audiences. As has been the case for more than two decades now, BHFF continues to platform a range of diverse voices on both sides of the camera. We are particularly proud to feature a number of award-winning filmmakers, and as always, including a number of both established and emerging women film directors. Additionally, this year we feature four amazing short films by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s student filmmakers. The films selected for this year’s final competition program reflect the impressive vitality of Bosnian-Herzegovinian cinema, both in the country and across its diaspora. The filmmakers whose work we feature are not afraid to tackle provocative topics at a time when artistic integrity and engagement are sorely needed,” said the new BHFF Director Ivona Boroje and long-time Programming Director Dijana Jelača.

The official BHFF 2025 competition program consists of three narrative feature films, three feature-length documentaries, two short documentaries, and four short narrative films by a mixture of both veteran and emerging filmmakers. The twelve films selected for this year’s BHFF are eligible to win the BHFF Golden Apple Jury Awards for Best Documentary Film, Best Short Narrative Film, Best Feature Narrative Film, Best Acting Performance, and the Jury Special Mention. All in-competition films are also in the running for the BHFF Golden Apple Audience Award for Best Picture.

Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival 2025 Program

THIS WAS A GRAFFITI
Valeriya Boyko | 12 min
Short Documentary
(North American Premiere)

“This is Serbia. This is a post office, you fool” was a graffiti that appeared in Sarajevo briefly before the onset of the Bosnian war. In a series of conversations with local personalities, the film explores the story behind the graffiti that everyone knows yet few have seen.

GYM
Srđan Vuletić | 85 min
Feature Narrative
(North American Premiere)
*Followed by a Q&A

Riki works for a struggling catering company. Ado, his misogynistic colleague and brother in law wants to fix the business by beating up Melisa, a former top cake maker coworker, and force her to work with them again. All the employees dismiss the plan as totally stupid and senseless. However, Ado is a stubborn savage and his colleagues know he won’t give up unless stopped. Riki is divided between a sense of justice and norms in which we tolerate family or friends no matter what they do.

MY LATE SUMMER
Danis Tanović | 98 min
Feature Narrative
(North American Premiere)
*Followed by a Q&A

When Maja travels to a remote island to resolve family inheritance issues, she does not expect to stay longer than planned. Overcome by new emotions and through a series of unforeseen situations, Maja will finally be forced to confront some issues from her past. Residents of the island live their usual unusual lives and particularly contributing to that are local mayor, Ico, and his partner in eco-friendly marijuana growing business, Nediljko. Only after she becomes friends with Saša, the extent of Maja’s unresolved family issues becomes apparent. Her quest for inheritance becomes a quest for personal identity and forgiveness.

THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
Nebojša Slijepčević | 14 min
Short Narrative

Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1993. A passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them. This is the story of a man who could not remain silent. Based on true events.

AT THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE, WHO WILL COME KNOCKING
Maja Novaković | 84 min
Feature Documentary
(New York Premiere)

Set in the harsh yet beautiful landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the film reveals inner, intangible realms through the patient observation of the natural world. It follows an elderly man living in isolation, weaving together a tapestry of dreamlike visuals as it records the routines of his daily life. Surrounding mountains, a burning stove and animal companions offer solace and warmth.

MY FATHER’S DIARIES
Ado Hasanović | 93 min
Feature Documentary
(North American Premiere)
*Followed by a Q&A

It is August 1993, when Bekir Hasanović exchanges a gold coin for the camera he will use to film everyday life in Srebrenica from then on. The images he records during the days of the war with his improvised crew, called Dzon, Ben & Boys, give life to the unexpected portrait of a population lost, though able to maintain a solid connection with reality without giving up its typical humor. Ado, Bekir’s son, starts from these images and from the pages of the diaries kept by his father to reconstruct the image of his father and, together with his mother Fatima, finally be able to understand how he survived the Death March and the Srebrenica genocide.

BHFF PRESENTS: STUDENT SHORTS
*Followed by a Q&A

GOOD LUCK, SARA
Isidora Ratković | 21 min
Short Narrative
(North American Premiere)

TOMORROW WE WILL BUY THE FISH
Sara Ristić | 18 min
Short Narrative
(North American Premiere)

ALL BECAUSE OF A BULL
Emir Solaković | 29 min
Short Documentary
(North American Premiere)

ZANZIBAR COLORIZED 4K
Lea Tošić | 12 min
Short Narrative
(North American Premiere)

BLUM: MASTERS OF THEIR OWN DESTINY
Jasmila Žbanić | 75 min
Feature Documentary

Jasmila Žbanić’s documentary sheds light on an extraordinary historical figure, Emerik Blum. A Bosnian Jew of Hungarian descent, Blum managed in 1944 to escape two of the most notorious concentration camps run by the Croatian fascist Ustaše. He thrived during the early postwar years of Marshal Tito’s Yugoslavia by ascending to top ministerial positions in the power sector, leading him to become the founding director of Energoinvest, one of Europe’s largest (and still-preeminent) engineering conglomerates.

WHEN SANTA WAS A COMMUNIST
Emir Kapetanović | 86 min
Feature Narrative

A dark comedy about a troupe of actors deep in the provinces trying to bring holiday joy to children in a post-war, religiously divided country by putting on a Santa Claus play. But they face bans on the play due to ethnic and religious prejudices between the Catholics and Muslims who live and rule in Bosnia. A big problem is that in the old days before the war, Santa Claus in the country was also a communist. The story is based on true events.