Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) is an annual event founded in 2003 and held in New York
and since 2007 showcased at the Tribeca
Cinemas Theatres. This Festival showcases the best of the Bosnian
cinematography and also provides a platform for the international exposure for emerging Bosnian filmmakers. It showcases the best of the resurgent film production in Bosnia since the recent war
, bringing the simplicity, soulfulness and the perennial dark humor of the Bosnian film to the American audiences. In addition to showcasing the Bosnian production films the festival also includes in their program films by other producers and directors that deal with historical, socio-political and cultural issues of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival is organized by not-for-profit organizations the Voice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inc. and the Academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Inc.
, one of New York’s cultural hubs . In its founding year the festival showcased 5 film titles.
The festival also highlighted "Aftermath," a photography exhibit by artist Sara Terry. Among other guests of the first BHFF was the lead female role of Kuduz, actress Snežana Bogdanović.
Following its debut, the BHFF€ moved to larger premises at the Anthology Film Archives
, still maintaining its presence in the East Village. Film director Džemal Šabić opened the second annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival on April 29, 2005. There were 10 film titles screened at the second BHFF.
Among festival guests were young Bosnian-Herzegovinian filmmakers and artists Sabina Vajrača, Aida Šehović and Nebojša Šerić Shoba, as well as the director of the Sarajevo Film Festival
, Mirsad Purivatra, and the former Bosnian-Herzegovinian Ambassador to the United Nations
, Dr. Mirza Kušljugić.
This critical second annual event of Bosnian-Herzegovinian film set the pace for the future BHFF, making the festival much awaited tradition among its audience.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and since 2007 showcased at the Tribeca
TriBeCa
Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...
Cinemas Theatres. This Festival showcases the best of the Bosnian
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
cinematography and also provides a platform for the international exposure for emerging Bosnian filmmakers. It showcases the best of the resurgent film production in Bosnia since the recent war
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, bringing the simplicity, soulfulness and the perennial dark humor of the Bosnian film to the American audiences. In addition to showcasing the Bosnian production films the festival also includes in their program films by other producers and directors that deal with historical, socio-political and cultural issues of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival is organized by not-for-profit organizations the Voice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inc. and the Academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Inc.
History
On October 24, 2003, director Benjamin Filipović, a winner of the Grand Prix of Europe for Best Short Film and a former President of the Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, officially opened the first festival at the Two Boots Pioneer Theatre in East VillageEast Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
, one of New York’s cultural hubs . In its founding year the festival showcased 5 film titles.
The festival also highlighted "Aftermath," a photography exhibit by artist Sara Terry. Among other guests of the first BHFF was the lead female role of Kuduz, actress Snežana Bogdanović.
Following its debut, the BHFF€ moved to larger premises at the Anthology Film Archives
Anthology Film Archives
__notoc__Anthology Film Archives is a film archive and theater located at 32 Second Avenue on the corner of East Second Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City devoted to the preservation and exhibition of experimental film. It is the only non-profit organization of its...
, still maintaining its presence in the East Village. Film director Džemal Šabić opened the second annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival on April 29, 2005. There were 10 film titles screened at the second BHFF.
Among festival guests were young Bosnian-Herzegovinian filmmakers and artists Sabina Vajrača, Aida Šehović and Nebojša Šerić Shoba, as well as the director of the Sarajevo Film Festival
Sarajevo Film Festival
The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in the Balkans, and is one of the largest in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo, and brings international and local celebrities to Sarajevo every year. It is held in August and showcases an...
, Mirsad Purivatra, and the former Bosnian-Herzegovinian Ambassador to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, Dr. Mirza Kušljugić.
This critical second annual event of Bosnian-Herzegovinian film set the pace for the future BHFF, making the festival much awaited tradition among its audience.
Winners
Since 2006 the festival also presents Audience Award, The BHFF Golden Apple for the Best Short or Feature Film and Audience Award for the Best Documentary Film.- Best Feature Film
- 2010 Storm - Hans Christian Schmid
- 2009 AgapEAgapeAgape is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term...
- Slobodan Maksimović - 2008 The Rhythm of Life - Enver Puška
- 2007 GrbavicaGrbavica (film)Grbavica is a 2006 film by Jasmila Žbanić about the life of a single mother in contemporary Sarajevo in the aftermath of systematic rapes of Bosniak women by Serbian troops during the war...
- Jasmila ŽbanićJasmila ŽbanicJasmila Žbanić is a film director from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a graduate of Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, department for theater and film directing. She also worked as a puppeteer in the Vermont-based Bread and Puppet Theater and as a clown in a Lee De Long workshop. She is noted for the... - 2006 Go WestGo West (2005 film)Go West is a 2005 Bosnia-Herzegovina drama directed by Ahmed Imamović. It tells the story of two gay lovers, one being a Bosniak and the other a Serb, during the Bosnian War...
- Ahmed Imamović
- Best Documentary Film
- 2010 Sevdah (documentary film) - Marina Andree
- 2009 Diagnosis S.B.H. - Enes Zlatar
- 2008 Enter the Dragon - Ozren Milharcić
- 2007 Carnival - Alen Drljević
- 2006 I See You My Friend - Ćazim Dervišević