Balkan Connection
Two events will celebrate Balkan creativity within a month of each other.
The Romanian wave has certainly caught people’s attention, but other national cinemas from the region have also made their mark at major festivals, as confirmed by the Golden Bear awarded to Jasmila Žbanić’s Bosnian film Esma’s Secret [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Barbara Albert
interview: Jasmila Zbanic
film profile] in 2006.
The region is artistically fertile; the evolving history of the Balkans stimulates the burgeoning cultural scene. At first glance, however, it is difficult to imagine what connects these different national cinemas, as they are born of regions whose languages, religions and traditions are so diverse.
The Balkan Cinema Days, initiated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and held from April 21-23 at Flagey (Brussels), will attempt to establish connections between the different cinemas.
Audiences will have a chance to see eight films by directors from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and ARY Macedonia. These include Žbanić’s Esma’s Secret and Father and Godfather by the prolific Albanian director Dhimiter Anagnosti (19 features since 1961).
Ognjen Sviličić’s Armin (Croatia/Germany/Bosnia-Herzegovina) will open the event.
Alternating between lucid cynicism and audacious optimism, Balkan filmmakers stand out – according to Grégory Mounier – due to their ability to "unaffectedly combine the freshness of youth with the seriousness of issues that cause suffering and give rise to reflection".
One month before, from March 27-28, the Balkan Trafik Festival will take place. The event will screen three musical documentaries from the Balkans: Zlatina Rousseva’s Contre-Courant (Bulgaria); Trumpet's Republic by Stefano Missio and Alessandro Gori (Serbia); and Mira Erdevicki’s Sevdah, The Bridge That Survived (Bosnia).
The festival offers audiences the opportunity to discover unknown works from the Balkans, in a location at the heart of Western Europe.
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
