Ron Holloway, Interfilm Akademie, 27 August 2006
“Our vision, set some ten years ago, is slowly but surely becoming reality,”
stated Mirsad Purivatra in his introductory comments printed in the 200-page
catalogue to the 12th Sarajevo Film Festival
(18-26 August 2006).
“And we are happy to see that film professionals from BiH (Bosnia and Hercegovina), the
region, and the world have recognized that.” Then he added with a note of pride:
“Presentation of the best films from the region is now complete, with the
introduction of the competition programs and awards for the best film in all the
categories: feature, short, and documentary.” He meant that , this year, in
keeping with the festival’s long-standing tradition, documentaries were added to
the Regional Competition program.
What does “Regional” mean? Some say simply “Balkans.” But when I asked
one of the festival programmers just how far the Balkans stretch across the
map of southeastern Europe, the answer was simplified in economic terms: “Since
prize money is involved, the producer or director from this corner of
southeastern Europe will ultimately decide whether his or her film has a ‘Balkan’
label on it.” Thus, for some, Slovenia is a Balkan country, because it was
formerly a republic in ex Yugoslavia. For others, Hungary would quality too,
although it’s often classified as a “CentEast” (Central Eastern ) country in the
European Community. And, for the broadminded, Turkey can also be considered a
Balkan country, although only a fifth of its population live on the European side
of the Bosporus.
Sarajevo 2006 was far more than just the Regional Competitions. In
addition to these, there were a dozen other sections: Regional Off Program (out-of
competition films from the region), New Currents and New Currents Shorts (along
the avant-garde line), Panorama and Panorama Documentaries (mostly highlights
from other major festivals), Tributes to Abel Ferrara (USA) and Bela Tarr
(Hungary), Heineken Open Air Program (generally mainstream fare), Children’s
Program and TeenArena (films for kids and youth), Katrin Cartlidge Foundation
Entry, European Film Academy Nominations (shorts in particular), Special Programs
(key sociopolitical films), and a Memoriam to Benjamin Filipovic (1962 2006),
the late energetic President of the BiH Filmmakers Association, whose highly
praised and original black comedy Dobro ustimani mrtvaci (Well Tempered
Corpses) (Bosnia & Hercegovina/Slovenia/France/Italy) (2005) had opened last year’s
Sarajevo Film Festival.
This year’s Sarajevo festival benefitted greatly from the Golden Bear
awarded at the Berlinale last February to Sarajevo director Jasmila Zbanic’s
debut feature Grbavica, (Bosnia & Hercegovina-Austrian-German-Croatia), starring
the courageous Serb actress Mirjana Karanovic, who had stood tall in Belgrade
during the four-year siege of Sarajevo (1992-95) in defiance of the ethnic
cleansing policies fostered by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosovic. A searing
film of social conscience, the thematic content alone makes Grbavica one of the
most politically relevant film of the current decade. Moreover, since
Grbavica, a suburb of Sarajevo, is symbolic of the agony of some 20,000 Muslim women
(some 14 and 15 years of age) raped by Serb-Chetnik nationalists, the issue
still has to be settled in Balkan political parlance as an fully certified crime
against human dignity and a violation of human rights. Grbavica, screened for
the Sarajevo public in the Regional Off Program, sparked a lengthy dialogue
with the director afterwards.
Whether by intention or coincidence, the Award for Best Regional Feature
went to Andrea Staka’s Das Fräulein (Switzerland/Germany/Bosnia &
Hercegovina), starring the same Mirjana Karanovic in the role of an emotionally stifled
Bosnian woman who manages a cafeteria for the down-and-out in Zurich. Her life
changes for the better when she hires a carefree and caring refugee from
Sarajevo, who has lost her family in the war and is doomed herself to die of
leukemia. Awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno festival just two weeks before,
Das Fräulein might well be classified primarily as a Swiss film, save that the
parents of Andrea Staka come from Bosnia – and this is, indeed, their story as
much as anyone else’s. Not surprisingly, too, Bosnian actress Marija
Skaricic, who plays the demanding title role, was awarded Best Actress. Indeed, she is
a talent to watch in the future.
Another outstanding film in the Regional Competition, Corneliu
Porumbliu’s A fost sau n-a fost? (12:08 East of Bucharest) (Romania) – the direct
translation of the title is Did It Happen or Not? – opened the Sarajevo festival.
One of the discoveries at Cannes in the Directors Fortnight section, this
hilarious black comedy is set in a small Romanian town (somewhere “east of
Bucharest”) on that ominous day of 22 December 1989, thus commemorating the events on
University Square in Bucharest 16 years ago that spurred the revolution and the
eventual overthrow of the Ceausescu dictatorship. The rub comes when the
ambitious head of a local cable TV station invites two hapless discussion partners
to recall what they were doing on that historic day the uprising, and whether
or not they had participated in the protests that had taken place in their
town before city hall. Since one of the participants is a history teacher who
drinks too much, while the other is a lonely retiree who regularly plays Santa
Claus for the neighborhood kids, you can imagine the fun when pro-and-contra
phone calls come pouring in that confuse the memories of all concerned.
As for the Romanian entry in the Regional Competition, Radu Muntean’s
Hirtia va fi albastra (Paper Will Be Blue), the focus in this absurd tale is
again on the December 1989 revolution in Bucharest. A docudrama, Paper Will Be
Blue mirrors the confusion on the streets during a roadblock that prompts the
clash of the Military versus Securitate in the Romanian command. Throughout the
night, the Securitate commander seeks to find and return a recruit to his
ranks, a hot-headed young man who wants to join the revolution, rather than quell
it. Meanwhile, somewhere out there in the dark, strange things are happening
that trigger more confusion. Paper Will Be Blue deservedly received a Special
Mention from the Regional Jury and the Prize of the CICAE (Confederation
Internationale des Cinemas d'Art et Essai) Jury.
Two comedies in the Regional Competition were standouts as well. In
Antonio Nuic’s Sve dzaba (All for Free) (Croatia/Serbia/Bosnia & Hercegovina) Rakan
Rushaidat (awarded Best Actor) plays a do-nothing in a small Croatian town
who suddenly finds himself more alone than ever when his drinking buddies get
killed in a quarrel by a cuckolded husband. So he sells his house, buys a
kiosk-on wheels, and wanders around the country in an “All Is Free” spree of
providing drinks to any and all just for the hell of it. Miroslav Momcilovic’s Sedam
i po (Seven and a Half) (Serbia), another comedy with some delightful twists,
takes its cue from the seven capital sins. Each of the tales – focusing on
greed, anger, gluttony, pride, envy, lust, and sloth – feature adept acting
performances in well penned idiotic situations. As for the “half” in Seven and a
Half, this is the emergency ward in a hospital where all the protagonists end
their respective run through the seven deadly sins.
Two highly recommended entries in the Regional Documentaries program took
the political pulse of the Balkans today and yesterday. Janko Baljak’s
Vukovar – poslednji rez (Vukovar – Final Cut) (Serbia/Croatia), honored with the
Human Rights Award, is the first Serbian-Croatian production to chronicle the
truth of what happened in the Croatian city of Vukovar during the first
frightful war year, from spring to autumn in 1991. And in Alen Drljevic’s Karneval
(Carnival) (Bosnia & Hercegovina) a responsible journalist, Seki Radoncic,
investigates with the director the fate of Bosnian refugees who had rounded up by
the Montenegran police force in the spring of 1992 and then never heard of
again. Since Montenegro has recently proclaimed its independence in a national
referendum, the government officials in this ex-Yugoslav republic are faced with a
war crime that some would just as soon forget. Carnival, running at 70
minutes, deserves broad exposure on the international festival circuit.
AWARDS
FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Regional Feature Film
Das Fräulein (Switzerland/Gemany/Bosnia & Hercegovina), dir Andrea Staka
Special Jury Prize
Mama i tata (Mum ‘n’ Dad) (Bosnia & Hercegovina), dir Faruk Loncarevic
Special Mention
Hirtia va fi albastra (Paper Will Be Blue) (Romania), dir Radu Muntean
Best Actress
Marija Skaricic, Das Fräulein (Switzerland/Gemany/Bosnia & Hercegovina), dir
Andrea Staka
Best Actor
Rakan Rushaidat, Sve dzaba (All for Free) (Croatia/Serbia/Bosnia &
Hercegovina), dir Antonio Nuic
SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Regional Short Film
Sretan put Nedime (Good Luck Nedim) (Slovenia), dir Marko Santic
Special Mentions
Nije da znam, nego je tako (It’s Not That I Know, That’s Just the Way It Is)
(Croatia), dir Tanja Golic
Skepsi tis imeras (Thought of the Day) (Greece), dir Yiannis Gaitanidis
Greece
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Regional Short Film
Sta sa sobom preko dana (Facing the Day) (Croatia), dir Ivona Juka
OTHER AWARDS
Human Rights Award
Vukovar – poslednji rez (Vukovar – Final Cut) (Serbia/Croatia), dir Janko
Baljak
European Documentary Network – EDN Talent Award
Dvije sestre (prica o ljubavi) / Two Sisters (Story about Love) (Bosnia &
Hercegovina), dir Dzemal Sabic
Prix EFA/UIP – Best Short Film
Sretan put Nedime (Good Luck Nedim) (Slovenia), dir Marko Santic
CICAE Award – Confederation Internationale des Cinemas d'Art et Essai
Hirtia va fi albastra (Paper Will Be Blue) (Romania), dir Radu Muntean
Best Teen Film Award
Wholetrain (Germany), Florian Gaag
Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Awards
Mike Leigh, British director
Gavrilo Grahovac, Bosnia & Hercegovina Minister of Culture and Sport
Sarajevo Festival Tributes
Abel Ferrara, USA
Bela Tarr, Hungary
CineLink 2006 Awards
CineLink Hubert Bals Fund Award
The Day When the Winter Began (Bosnia & Hercegovina), scr/dir Nedzad Begovic
CineLink PBS BiH Award
A Heart Shaped Balloon (Romania), scr Bogdan Mustata, dir Catalin Mitulescu
CineLink Sarajevo Film Festival Award
Lara (Slovenia), scr/dir Blaz Kutin
CineLink Eave Scholarship Award
Miroslav Mogorovic (Serbia), producer, From Belgrade with Love