Sarajevo, present time. We follow the boring and sad everyday routine of an old ex-partisan (90 years of age) who lives alone in his derelict apartment. Apart from basic human activities (sleeping, eating, fulfilling of hygienic needs...), he is watching sumo wrestling on the TV and reminiscing on his past life.
His only notable activity is watching through his window with WW2 binoculars.
He is especially interested in lives of an older married couple that live in the house across the road.
One day he notices something that motivates him to act and embark on his last guerrilla action.
When we thought how Sarajevo resonates in us intimately – three things momentarily sprang to our minds: 1984 Olympics, recent war and film “Valter defends Sarajevo”. For us as film buffs, the legend of Valter was the most interesting association, especially as that man himself symbolizes Sarajevo’s will to never surrender.
Vladimir "Valter" Perić was the legendary resistance leader in Sarajevo during Second World War who was killed by a mortar grenade in the fighting on the day of Sarajevo's liberation and has since then became something of a city icon.
We wanted to use the legend and the remembrance of the real man behind it in a fictional story of his last action that tempers with reality recreating a fresh look on his possible pensioned life through which we hope to "liberate" Sarajevo from all the bad things in its past and create an opening for the more positive future.
Although this is not a documentary about Sarajevo, it tells the story of a city that witnessed people at their worst and their best.
In some respect, the slow pace refers to paintings and the number of scenes itself (26) is a reference to the great Lordan Zafranović film “Occupation in 26 pictures”.
Basically, we pictured this short as a meditation on the strength of life shown in 26 perfectly set pictures. Also, we consider this story not just an aesthetically dramatic work of art but also a touching character-piece with humour and pathos to spare.
Cast & Crew_
VLADIMIR JOKANOVIĆ – ESMA ARNAUTOVIĆ – AHMED BAHTO
Sarajevo City of Film Coordinator IVANA PEKUŠIĆ production designer & costumes EMINA HODŽIĆ ADILOVIĆ
sound IGOR ČAMO music DO MAKE SAY THINK & OTICON editing MARIN JURANIĆ
director of photography IVAN SLIPČEVIĆ line producers OGNJEN DIZDAREVIĆ & ADIS ĐAPO
executive producers IZETA GRAĐEVIĆ & JOVAN MARJANOVIĆ & MIRSAD PURIVATRA
producer AMRA BAKŠIĆ ČAMO
thank you MEŠA SELIMOVIĆ & HAJRUDIN KRVAVAC & ANĐELA RAMLJAK & EDIS LIVNJAK & ORKAN BAYRAM
Festivals_
Sarajevo Film Festival 2009
Days of Bosnian Film 2009
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2010
Days of Croatian Film 2010
Mediterranean Film Festival Split 2010
Tabor Film Festival 2010
Cinema City Festival Novi Sad 2010
RAF 2010
Sofia International Film Festival 2010
goEast Film Festival Wiesbaden 2010
Movies That Matter Festival Haag 2010
CosyMo's Solar Cinema European Tour 2010
International Festival of Short Story Podgorica 2010
GrandOFF Warsaw 2010
Yasujiro Ozu International Short Film Festival 2010
Curtas Vila do Conde 2011 - Transitions & Generations program
Byron Bay International Film Festival 2011 – Official experimental film selection
