[wzslider]By: Medina Malagić
The opening ceremony of the 19th annual Sarajevo Film Festival last night opened with the premiere of the film ‘An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker’ by B&H director and screenwriter Danis Tanović.
This morning, Danis Tanović and the main actor from the film Nazif Mujić participated in a program of the Sarajevo Film Festival called ‘Coffee With…’. It was established in order to serve as somewhat of a more informal gathering of between guests of the festival, filmmakers and journalists.
After discussions by Tanović and Mujić on the making of the film, the audience was provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the director and leading star of the movie.
When asked by the moderator to explain the level of difficulty in reconstructing such events, Tanović stated that he would not know how to best categorize this movie. They started filming without knowing in which direction the film would go and how it would end up. However, what was most important was to have trust in the team.
Mujić explained that his and his family’s personal experiences resonated throughout the film. ”I was myself in the movie. We told our own stories”.
He went on to exclaim how his experience in Berlin was very surprising, and that he could believe that he was that man that had won such a prestigious award.
Despite the prestige showered on Nazif since Berlin, working with an internationally renowned filmmaker, and now the chance to walk down the red carpet at the 19th Sarajevo Film Festival, Tanović emphasized that this story be seen as the starting point for a longer story that needs to be told and discussed on what needs to change in our society.
”The aim of the work is for Bosnians to see it. We speak much about these issues. This is the roller-coaster ride of Nazif’s life. He will go home tomorrow to his life, which is very different that what we all see here today. But, I hope that his life is better now that it was before. If so, then for me that is the most important thing, for his family to live better and for the whole world to see their story. This story should be the beginning of a long story in our society on what needs to change, and not to be just some final point, that we won awards and that is all there is to it”, explained Tanović.
He also mentioned that he met a man from France who is interested in distributing this film throughout Europe. This is not an issue that affects only B&H, since discrimination against the Roma population is pervasive throughout all of Europe.
Nazif enthusiastically said that the main change that has occured in his life since the filming of the movie is that he has found a job, and along with that, health insurance. The message that he conveyed this morning, as well as at the Berlin Film Festival, is that discrimination based on skin color, religion, or any other demarcator used to separate people does not make sense. ”When we cut our fingers, blood flows from all of us”, said Nazif.
”An Epsidode in the Life of an Iron Picker” premiered at this this year’s 63rd annual Berlin Film Festival. It won the Grand Jury Prix award, an award given to one of the feature films at the festival, and is considered to be the second most presitigious prize at the Berlin Film Festival. The main actor in the film Nazif Mujić took home the Silver Bear Award for best actor.
