The exhibition “Pharmacy on the Big Screen – Where Science Meets Drama”, by Tarik Čatić and Berina Čubro, is on display at the Museum of Pharmacy.
“From thrilling thrillers to emotional dramas, pharmacy often plays a key role in the stories that keep us glued to the screen. The pharmaceutical industry plays a key role in healthcare, from drug discovery to public health advocacy. Whether through suspenseful dramas, inspiring documentaries or exciting biographical films, films and TV series have captured the innovations, challenges and ethical dilemmas of this field,” said Tarik Čatić, founder of the Museum of Pharmacy and author of the exhibition, for Fena news agency.
The exhibition covers the following films: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) by Frank Capra, in which one of the best pharmacy scenes was filmed; “Side Effects” (2013); the American psychological thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh, “Love and Other Drugs”, a romantic story that shows how the pharmaceutical industry works; “Valter Defends Sarajevo” (1972); the cult film by Hajrudin Krvavac with a famous scene from a pharmacy that has been located in the same place in Sarajevo for over 100 years; and the films “Magnolia”, “John Q”, “The Power of the Spirit”, and the story of poisons in the works of Agatha Christie, which have often been made into films.
The curator of the Pharmacy Museum, Berina Čubro, said that this is a thematic exhibition that is being realized in conjunction with the Sarajevo Film Festival. She emphasized that they chose films that have some connection with pharmacy.
The official opening date of the Museum is October 17
The curator of the Pharmacy Museum, Berina Čubro, says that October 17 was chosen as the official opening date of the Museum because on that day in 1907, a decree of the Provincial Government was passed that women could also own pharmacies.
The rich history of pharmacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which traces its roots from medieval Bosnia, through the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian periods, through the Yugoslav period to the modern state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is presented through a permanent exhibition and a pharmaceutical time machine.
The museum, among other things, can see containers in which medicines and medicinal products were stored.
Among other things, as Berina Čubro said, talking about the development of pharmacy, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in medieval Bosnia, everything that was found in nature was treated, and pharmacists and doctors from Dubrovnik also came to treat the population.
“We also have copies of replicas of doctors, handwritten collections. It is characteristic of them that they were written in different letters and languages. They contained recipes, but also some other interesting things like stories, events. Everything that people thought was important to record.
Certificate of the doping laboratory that was during ZOI 84
In the Museum of Pharmacy, there is testimony about the doping laboratory that carried out doping controls during the ZOI 84.
“As far as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is concerned, we can say that it was a world exporter of opium, which was grown in Macedonia and Serbia and was of high quality, so it found its way into many world pharmaceutical companies,” said Čubro.
In the Museum of Pharmacy, you can find out where and when the first modern pharmacies were opened in Bosnia and Herzegovina and who their owners were, and enjoy the ambiance of an old pharmacy from Dubrovnik that dates back to 1897. Across the street from the Museum of Pharmacy in Štrosmajerova street is the building that housed the first modern pharmacy in Sarajevo, owned by Eduar Pleyel. From the window of the Museum of Pharmacy, you can see a stone embroidery with the initials of the former owner of that building, Eduard Pleyel.
The Pharmacy Museum also houses examples of old recipes, medicine packaging, colognes, examples of medical research, antique instruments, scales…
The Pharmacy Museum’s partner is the company Bosnalijek. The Pharmacy Museum is a member of the AIS – European Route of Historic Pharmacies and Medicinal Gardens.
