Legendary actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović will participate in two Q&As at the upcoming 2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF), following screenings of his two films Men Don’t Cry and The Frog. On Friday, April 13, Hadžihafizbegović joins director Alen Drljević for a Q&A following the 9:30pm screening of Men Don’t Cry. On Saturday, April 14, Hadžihafizbegović joins renowned producer Ademir Kenović and emerging director Elmir Jukić for a Q&A following the 6:00PM screening of their film The Frog. Both events take place at SVA Theatre in New York City.
Emir Hadžihafizbegović is a Bosnian film, theater, and television actor. Emir has appeared and been in more than 80 roles in theater and on TV spanning a 30 year career. Mr Hadžihafizbegović was born in the Bosnian city of Tuzla in 1961. He received his diploma in acting at the Academy of Arts in Sarajevo in 1986. He was awarded the Golden Arena for best actor at the Pula Film Festival and Best Actor Award at the Durban International Film Festival. Hadžihafizbegović was also the Minister of Culture and Sport in Sarajevo Canton. Hadžihafizbegović is twice nominated for the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance, for his roles in The Frog and Men Don’t Cry.
Drljević’s Men Don’t Cry, starring Hadžihafizbegović, is an unflinching look at one of the most troubling consequences of the war: the long-term psychological trauma of war veterans, and the social stigma placed on their wounded masculinity. Based on the true story of former soldiers from all ethnic sides coming together to participate in drama workshops and share their war traumas with one another, Hadžihafizbegović leads a stellar cast of regional actors who all give powerhouse performances.
The Frog, starring Hadžihafizbegović and directed by Jukić, is an intensely emotional portrayal of an encounter between several men in a barber shop, where unresolved family issues and war wounds bubble up to the surface. With a tour de force performance by Hadžihafizbegović, Frog is an insightful study of PTSD, masculinity, as well as the social hardships facing Bosnia’s present.