There, behind the apartment blocks which once obscured the festival’s inaugural 1994 iteration from VRS snipers, we settled down for a special pre-screening of Jasmila Žbanić’s still unfinished documentary, Blum.
Under the symbolic name “Trčim za mir” [I run for peace], a trail race will be held on October 1st in Mostar on three tracks, five, ten and 21 kilometers long. Its aim is to contribute to peace, spreading the message that it is possible to build peace with everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The documentary film “Kapija ‘95” premiered in Tuzla, where on the evening of May 25th, 1995, the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) fired a grenade into the center of the city, killing 71 young people and wounding 150 more. The film underscored compassion for the victims, persistence on the path of the truth, and the necessity of prosecuting those responsible for this terrible crime.
British photographer Paul Lowe’s black and white photo exhibition, “Opsada/Siege” depicts daily life, culture, survival, death, and childhood in besieged Sarajevo, and will be displayed annually starting on April 5th in the Sarajevo City Hall. The exhibition will serve to commemorate the beginning of the longest siege of a capital city in modern history.
Although they come from different cities, four young writers share a great love for the written word. By their example, they show that literature in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not dying out.
Ivo Andrić is still the only Nobel laureate in literature from any of the former Yugoslav countries. His works were inspired by Bosnia, and on one occasion, he declared: “Bosnia is my spiritual homeland.” A permanent exhibition about his life and literary work is located in the Ivo Andrić Memorial Birthplace Museum in Travnik. One of the main features of the artistic and cultural expression of Bosnia and Herzegovina is contained within his works.