My Aunt in Sarajevo (2016) Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival 2017

A Swedish Bosnian co-production, MY AUNT IN SARAJEVO is a deeply moving meditation about war, memory, and our children. This hour long film has more truth and emotional heft than most other films running twice as long.

The plot of the film is simple, Sweden born Anja has a lot of questions concerning her heritage. The daughter of Zlatan, who escaped from Sarajevo in 1992, she knows very little of her father’s country or even her father’s past. Wanting to know more she books a trip  to Sarajevo in order to find answers. She is happy when her dad agrees to go since she may get him to talk about the past. The key "reason" they are going is to visit an aunt to whom Zlatan has been sending money to for years. However what they find once they arrive what happens is not what either one is expecting.

At times funny and at other times deeply moving this film is as wonderful a viewing experience as I’ve had in a long time. This was a film that touched my head and my heart. This is good time with good people.

One of the things that makes this film so special is that its carefully modulated story forces us to really consider not only what we remember of the past, but what we tell future generations. Are we keeping our children safe by not telling them what happened or are we hurting them? Additionally what are we doing to ourselves? These are not easy answers because dealing with them opens us up to thoughts and feelings we may not want to deal with.

Over the course  of the film Zlatan  changes as he comes to terms with what happened three decades earlier, thanks to connecting with "lost" friends and family, including Anja who begins to understand why her dad was so reluctant to talk.  We watch as Zlatan becomes freer because he deals with the losses of the past.

For me there is a beautiful visual metaphor in the film where the lovely city of Sarajevo which seems largely rebuilt and fine for much of the film, but is suddenly seen to be chipped broken and bullet ridden. Yes, like Zlatan, it is together, but there is damage if you look closer. However at the same time life is going on. It’s a sort of obvious trick but when it how it is deployed in the film results in an audible gasp.

I loved this film a great deal. It is an important film about the cost of war and what is really important in life.

A must see when it plays at Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival Thursday night. For tickets and more information go here.

Nightcap 4/9/17 BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILM FESTIVAL starts Thursday, this past Karloff week, Lego Batman, Kong Skull Island and Randi's links

BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILM FESTIVAL starts Thursday and you need to go. While they festival always screens great films, the reason you need to go is that everyone connected to it is utterly charming. Several years ago Joe Bendel began to twist my arm insisting that I had to cover the fest not remotely with screener but in person. I had to meet the people running the festival. I bought a ticket and met Joe at the festival…

And the most amazing thing happened- I fell in love with the festival And the people. Walking into the festival Joe was greeted as a long lost brother. Long conversations happened as people kept coming up to Je to say hi. Everyone was engaging everyone and it all felt like an old home week. It was like coming home to the family you never knew you had hidden away. I’ve been back every year since then.

To be honest the problem with the festival over the last few years is that it had been bouncing around from location to location and the calendar. The festival tended to collide with other festivals or in the case of this year- holidays. The fest runs in the days leading up to Easter which makes my coverage tough since I have to bounce it around family commitments. But just because I’m not camping out doesn’t mean there won’t be coverage. I’ve seen one film already and I’m hoping to get to one or two more during the festival.

If you can you should make an effort to go to the festival. It doesn’t really matter what you pick since the films they schedule are pretty much great across the board- you just have to go so you can meet some truly great people

For more information and tickets go here.
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I think I confused some new readers by having a week of Boris Karloff films. Apologies if one was confused but newer readers should know that Unseen FIlms was started to highlight films from all eras.

The Karloff wek was the result of being buried with films from Tribeca. We're going to have tons of coverage of one of our favorite fests but in order to do it we have to trim away some of the newer films. Not to worry we've got tons of new releases coming this week and tons of festival coverage in the following weeks.
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This week in addition to see a lot of films for Tribeca I saw LEGO BATMAN.

Yes I'm way behind on this but it fell into my lap as an alternative luncheon date.

I won't get into details, but I liked it. I didnt love it. The problem was a couple of jokes had been told to me and the fact that the film was so well thought out that many of the jokes were intellectually brilliant but didn't hit me in the funny bone. I laughed but not enough as I would have wanted.

On the other hand any film that has Batman fighting Daleks is cool with me.
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I saw KONG SKULL ISLAND this week as well.

I loved the film. This  is the film that Peter Jackson should have done. A beautiful marriage of old school monsters and new school technology the film is just a great deal of fun.

One of the things I loved about the film is the sense that Skull Island is a place. You have a feeling that the place exists and it all bleeds off the screen. Not everything is explained- just enough is and it makes it all real.

I have no idea if it will go off the rails down the road in other films but as of right now it's pretty cool.
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Randi's Links
Blue Print of the history of electronic music
A blue print linking alternative artists together
Batman the animated series score
And for you fans of Queen's Flash Gordon soundtrack

PROGRAM ANNOUNCED FOR THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK CITY

TICKET SALES NOW OPEN AVAILABLE HERE

New York City, March 2017 — The programming committee for the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) is excited to announce the lineup for its 2017 edition. A total of 13 films will be screened at the festival, including 6 Q&A and discussion panels with the filmmakers, running from Wednesday, April 12 through Saturday, April 15 at two Manhattan venues.

The BHFF will kick off with a special event on Wednesday, April 12 with a screening and discussion panel at Anthology Film Archives before moving to the SVA Theatre for three exciting nights featuring screenings of the festival's 2017 competition selections, events with with filmmakers, and much more.

This year's program is incredibly diverse and tackles a number of important social and cultural themes, including economic insecurity, disability, gender discrimination, and the ongoing efforts to come to terms with the legacies of the Bosnian War. The BHFF is delighted to feature the work of innovative young filmmakers alongside established regional names such as Oscar-winning director Danis Tanović and legendary actress Mirjana Karanović.

Starting things off on Wednesday, April 12 at Anthology Film Archives will be a special screening of Branko Ištvančić documentary feature film Album, a look at the Balkan wars through the memories of photos left behind, followed by a panel discussion on the subject of post-Yugoslav cinema.

The festival's competition program will be held at SVA Theater on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from April 13-15, and will consist of four narrative feature films, four narrative shorts and four documentary films. Films in competition are:

Films selected to screen at the 14th Annual BHFF competition program are eligible to win a number of honors including the Golden Apple audience and jury awards.

BHFF 2017 PROGRAM

FEATURE FILMS
Nika | Slobodan Maksimović | 92 min
A young girl's determination to become a racecar driver against the wishes of her mother evokes themes of teenage rebellion and generationalism.

My Aunt in Sarajevo | Goran Kapetanović | 58 min
An 18-year-old girl convinces her father to take her to the land of his birth, Bosnia, where the pair discovers their roots and comes to terms with the past.

A Good Wife | Mirjana Karanović | 94 min
A woman's life is shaken when she discovers that her husband may have participated in war crimes.

Death in Sarajevo | Danis Tanović | 85 min
Calamity erupts at a hotel in Sarajevo on the 100th anniversary of Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination.

DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Cameraperson | Kirsten Johnson | 102 min
Documentarian Kirsten Johnson uses work ranging across her 25-year career to examine the ethics of documentary filmmaking.

City of Elephants | Marko Mijatović | 29 min
The mountains of Bosnia form a stunning backdrop for an exploration into the lives of three people struggling to make a living in an economically-deprived mining town.

Man With the Will of Steel | Amar Spahic | 16 min
Nadir Hajro defies the odds by fighting through his cerebral palsy to become a bodybuilder.

No Smoking in Sarajevo | Gianluca Loffredo | 75 min
The iconic Bosnian rock band No Smoking is examined with rare footage in a look at one of the most famous bands in Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia.

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS
Game | Senad Alihodžić | 7 min
A man's daily routine is shaken up when he becomes entangled in a unique and surreal game.

Refugee 532 | Goran Kapetanović | 14 min
A young refugee living alone in Sweden must adopt to his new country while seeking news from his family in Bosnia.

I Remember | Elma Tataragić | 15 min
A woman repeatedly returns to her family home, probing her own memories and grappling with her recollections of the beginning of the Bosnian War
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The Dragon | Ivan Ramadan | 10 min
Innovative animation methods explore the myths of Bosnia through the journey of the legendary dragon Aždaja.

The 2017 edition of the BHFF will also introduce a new jury award for Best Acting Performance, awarded to an actor or actress in a lead or supporting role in any of the narrative short and feature films. The festival is honored to extend the following nominations for the BHFF 2017 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance to:

Milan Dragišić, lead actor in the role of Zlatan in “My Aunt in Sarajevo”
Sadžida Šetić, supporting actress in the role of Radmila in “My Aunt in Sarajevo”
Mirjana Karanović, lead actress in the role of Milena in “A Good Wife”
Alena Džebo, lead actress in the unnamed role in “I Remember”
Snežana Vidović, lead actress in the role of Lamija in “Death in Sarajevo”
Faketa Salihbegović-Avdagić, supporting actress in the role of Hatidža in “Death in Sarajevo”

For tickets and more information go here