BHFF PROGRAM 2025
New York City, March 2025 — The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City is excited to announce the lineup for its 21st edition. A total of twelve films were selected for the festival’s official competition program. They include new films by Academy Award winner (Danis Tanović), Oscar-nominated director and winner of numerous European Academy Awards (Jasmila Žbanić), and a recent Oscar-nominated film and winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for Best Short Film (The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, by Nebojša Slijepčević). Producer Amra Bakšić Čamo will be awarded a special Golden Apple for Outstanding Contributions to BH Film. The 21st Annual festival will include a series of interactive Q&As and conversations with filmmaker guests, running from Wednesday, April 23rd through Saturday, April 26th at the SVA Theatre in New York City.
SVA Presentation 1
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 7:30 PM
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THIS WAS A GRAFFITI
OVO JE BIO GRAFIT
2024 | Valeriya Boyko | 12min
Short Documentary
(North American Premiere)
“This is Serbia. This is a post office, you fool” was a graffiti that appeared in Sarajevo briefly before the onset of the Bosnian war. In a series of conversations with local personalities, the film explores the story behind the graffiti that everyone knows yet few have seen.
GYM
2024 | Srđan Vuletić | 85min
Feature Narrative
(North American Premiere)
Riki works for a struggling catering company. Ado, his misogynistic colleague and brother in law wants to fix the business by beating up Melisa, a former top cake maker coworker, and force her to work with them again. All the employees dismiss the plan as totally stupid and senseless. However, Ado is a stubborn savage and his colleagues know he won’t give up unless stopped. Riki is divided between a sense of justice and norms in which we tolerate family or friends no matter what they do.
Followed by Q&A
SVA Presentation 2
Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 7 PM
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MY LATE SUMMER
NAKON LJETA
2024 | Danis Tanović | 98min
Feature Narrative
(North American Premiere)
When Maja travels to a remote island to resolve family inheritance issues, she does not expect to stay longer than planned. Overcome by new emotions and through a series of unforeseen situations, Maja will finally be forced to confront some issues from her past. Residents of the island live their usual unusual lives and particularly contributing to that are local mayor, Ico, and his partner in eco-friendly marijuana growing business, Nediljko. Only after she becomes friends with Saša, the extent of Maja’s unresolved family issues becomes apparent. Her quest for inheritance becomes a quest for personal identity and forgiveness.
Followed by Q&A
SVA Presentation 3
Friday, April 25, 2025 - 6 PM
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THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
ČOVJEK KOJI NIJE MOGAO ŠUTJETI
2024 | Nebojša Slijepčević | 14min
Short Narrative
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1993. A passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them. This is the story of a man who could not remain silent. Based on true events.
AT THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE, WHO WILL COME KNOCKING
KO ĆE POKUCATI NA VRATA MOG DOMA
2024 | Maja Novaković | 84min
Feature Documentary
(New York Premiere)
Set in the harsh yet beautiful landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the film reveals inner, intangible realms through the patient observation of the natural world. It follows an elderly man living in isolation, weaving together a tapestry of dreamlike visuals as it records the routines of his daily life. Surrounding mountains, a burning stove and animal companions offer solace and warmth.
SVA Presentation 4
Friday, April 25, 2025 - 8:15 PM
Followed by Q&A
MY FATHER’S DIARIES
DNEVNICI MOGA OCA
2024 | Ado Hasanović | 93min
Feature Documentary
(North American Premiere)
It is August 1993, when Bekir Hasanović exchanges a gold coin for the camera he will use to film everyday life in Srebrenica from then on. The images he records during the days of the war with his improvised crew, called Dzon, Ben & Boys, give life to the unexpected portrait of a population lost, though able to maintain a solid connection with reality without giving up its typical humor. Ado, Bekir's son, starts from these images and from the pages of the diaries kept by his father to reconstruct the image of his father and, together with his mother Fatima, finally be able to understand how he survived the Death March and the Srebrenica genocide.
SVA Presentation 5
Saturday, April 26, 2025 - 2:30 PM
BHFF PRESENTS: STUDENT SHORTS
In this screening, BHFF proudly showcases the work of four Bosnian-Herzegovinian student filmmakers and their diverse and exciting films. The themes they tackle are contemporary and urgent, as they pertain to the experiences of young people in Bosnia today.
From topics such as coming of age with queer identity and sexuality, to facing the dilemmas of whether to leave the country or stay, living in a rural area and being a rare young woman who excitedly partakes in bull rearing, to issues that any filmmaker may encounter when making a film, these four shorts display an amazing stylistic, formal and thematic range.
GOOD LUCK, SARA
SRETNO SARO
2024 | Isidora Ratković | 21min
Short Narrative
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TOMORROW WE WILL BUY THE FISH
SUTRA ĆEMO KUPITI RIBICU
2024 | Sara Ristić | 18min
Short Narrative
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ALL BECAUSE OF A BULL
SVE ZBOG JEDNOG BIKA
2024 | Emir Solaković | 29min
Short Documentary
ZANZIBAR COLORIZED 4K
ZANZIBAR 4K KOLORIZOVANO
2024 | Lea Tošić | 12min
Short Narrative
BLUM: MASTERS OF THEIR OWN DESTINY
BLUM: GOSPODARI SVOJE BUDUĆNOSTI
2024| Jasmila Žbanić | 75min
Feature Documentary
SVA Presentation 6
Saturday, April 26, 2025 - 5 PM
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Jasmila Žbanić’s documentary sheds light on an extraordinary historical figure, Emerik Blum. A Bosnian Jew of Hungarian descent, Blum managed in 1944 to escape two of the most notorious concentration camps run by the Croatian fascist Ustaše. He thrived during the early postwar years of Marshal Tito’s Yugoslavia by ascending to top ministerial positions in the power sector, leading him to become the founding director of Energoinvest, one of Europe’s largest (and still-preeminent) engineering conglomerates.
WHEN SANTA WAS A COMMUNIST
DJEDA MRAZ U BOSNI
2024 | Emir Kapetanović | 86min
Feature Narrative
SVA Presentation 7
Saturday, April 26, 2025 - 7:30 PM
A dark comedy about a troupe of actors deep in the provinces trying to bring holiday joy to children in a post-war, religiously divided country by putting on a Santa Claus play. But they face bans on the play due to ethnic and religious prejudices between the Catholics and Muslims who live and rule in Bosnia. A big problem is that in the old days before the war, Santa Claus in the country was also a communist. The story is based on true events.
Followed by Q&A