The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.
Bosnian Film to Compete at Berlin
Sarajevo | 16 December 2009 |
A new film by Bosnian writer-director Jasmila Zbanic “On the path” will have its world premiere at the 60th annual Berlin Film Festival, where it will compete for the prestigious Golden Bear award, the film producers announced.
“The film crew and I are very happy, Berlin is the best possible place where to present our film,” said Zbanic, whose debut “Grbavica” won the Golden Bear in 2006.
Zbanic's new film centers on a young married Bosnian couple whose love is put to the test as the wife struggles to put the painful past of the Bosnian war behind her and her alcoholic husband looks for salvation by embracing the ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam know as Wahhabism.
The film is a Bosnian-German-Austrian-Croatian co-production, produced by Zbanic’s own company Deblokada, Austrian Coop 99, German Pola Pandora and Croatian Ziva Production.
Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitesic had already been chosen based on her lead role in Zbanic’s film to take part in the Shooting Stars program which is run by the European Film Promotion, ETF, an organisation made up of film organisations from 31 European countries which promotes and markets the European cinema.
Cvitesic and nine other selected young talents will be presented to agents, directors and producers during the Berlinale in a series of events set up by EFP. The program culminates with the Shooting Stars award ceremony on 15 February.
Six other already announced titles for the competition of the Berlinale include Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” and Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer.”
In total 26 films will compete in the 2010 Berlin Festival, which runs from 11 to 21 February. Further titles will be announced in January.
