QUO VADIS, AIDA?
O.V. in Bosnian, English and German subtitled in English and Spanish
In the midst of the occupation, a woman gets caught up in the men's war game. In July of 1995 in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, standing on the edge of one of the most shocking events in recent history: the extermination by the Serbian army of 8,732 Bosnian civilians. Aida is an energetic teacher turned into a UN translator whose family is also in jeopardy, a privileged witness to the negotiations that are so close to her heart. This film, presented in Venice, displays brutal honesty whereby not only do the killers but the United Nations itself go down in flames by action or omission.
Direction: Jasmila Žbanić
Script: Jasmila Žbanic
Cinematography: Christine A. Maier
Editing: Jaroslaw Kaminski
Sound: Igor Camo
Cast: Jasna Ðuricic, Izudin Bajrovic, Boris Ler, Dino Bajrovic, Boris Isakovic
Production: Damir Ibrahimovic, Jasmila Žbanic, Nedzad Cerkez Beredza, Mike Goodridge
Production Company: Deblokada, coop99 Filmproduktion, Digital Cube, N279 Entertainment, Razor Film, Extreme Emotions, Indie Prod, Tordenfilm
Jasmila Žbanić
She was born in Sarajevo in 1974 and studied theater and cinematography in that same city. Before she started to make films, she worked as puppeteer at the Bread and Puppet Theatre of Vermont. She began to create films in 1997, and that same year she founded Deblokada, a society of artists with which she produced, wrote and directed numerous documentaries, video art pieces and short films. Her directorial debut Grbavica won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2006, among many other awards. Her second film On the Path (2006) was also released in competition at the Berlinale. It is followed by For Those Who Can Tell No Tales (2013), Official Selection in Toronto and San Sebastián, and Love Island (2014), premiered in Locarno, as well as several documentary films. Quo Vadis, Aida? her last film, received a Signis award in Venice.