May 9th, 2011 
The 8th Annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF™) will be held on May 13th and 14th at Tribeca Cinemas. Founded in 2003, the BHFF brings the best Bosnian-Herzegovinian films to New York City, by showcasing films that feature contemporary Bosnian Herzegovinian cinematography, as well as films with Bosnia and Herzegovina as their theme.
Photo Courtesy of: www.bhffnyc.org
This unique cultural event, organized by two New York area-based not-for-profit organizations, Voice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inc. and Academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, provides a platform for the exposure of up-and-coming and internationally renowned filmmakers. The festival helps contribute to a greater understanding of this country – its diverse culture, and complex history. To date, BHFF has screened more than 70 feature length, short, documentary and animated films viewed by several thousands of people.
This year, you can expect an amazing line-up of eleven films, including several U.S. premiers. Premiering are: “Sex Bomb“, showcasing a former model and Playboy Bunny who converts to Islam; “Mother”, a film about a desire of a mother from Srebrenica to bring her family together once again; “Munira”, which portrays a strong female leader in her fight for truth and justice years after the Srebrenica massacre, and “Rock n’war”, which tells the story of young people during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina who defied the evil with music.
I had the opportunity to watch one of the films, “Belvedere“, when it screened at the Museum of Modern Art earlier this year. If all the films at the festival are as emotionally charged and aesthetically beautiful as it, then I can promise you, you’re in for a treat.
The writer and director of the film “Snovi” (“Dreams”), Reshad Kulenovic, will be at the festival May 14th for the Question and Answer session. Kulenovic’s film was recently accepted as an Official Nominee for the 38th Annual Student Academy Awards. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the making of “Snovi” was very personal for Kulenovic. In his director’s statement, he says, “There are two distinct time periods for anyone who grew up in Bosnia around the same time I did: Before the war and After the war. This binary existence is weighted down by memory so try as we might, the present is forever marred by the past.” “Snovi” is a film about the “cinematic exploration of the aftermath of war, love, and the beauty of a moment.”
Photo Courtesy of: www.snovifilm.com
The Audience Award for the Best Short or Feature Film and the Audience Award for the Best Documentary Film will be presented at the awards ceremony at Tribeca Cinemas Lounge at 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 14th.
For more information about the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival and a complete line-up of films, please visit visit the BHFF’s website. For those of you whose Bosnian is a little rusty, no worries. All the films at the festival have English subtitles.
You can purchase tickets online. All tickets are tax-decutible donations.
