
Jasmila Žbanić
Directing
Biography
Jasmila Žbanić is a film writer and director from Bosnia and Herzegovina, best known for winning the Golden Bear at the International Filmfestival Berlin in 2006 for her feature film "Grbavica". She's a graduate of the Department for Theater and Film Directing at the Academy of Performing Arts, Sarajevo.
Known For

Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.
The Last of Us

A single mother of a teenager in the midst of a divorce, Nevena Murtezic struggles to balance her life between her 17-year-old son, Dino, and a job constantly under pressure from politics and the public.
I Know Your Soul

Bosnia, July 1995. Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is at the horizon for her family and people – rescue or death? Which move should she take?
Quo Vadis, Aida?

Kym, an Australian tourist, decides to travel to Bosnia. Her guidebook leads her to Višegrad, a small town steeped in history, on the border of Bosnia and Serbia. After a night of insomnia in the 'romantic' Hotel Vilina Vlas, Kym discovers what happened there during the war. She can no longer be an ordinary tourist and her life will never be the same again.
For Those Who Can Tell No Tales

20 short films about human rights.
Stories on Human Rights

A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.
Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

Filmmaker Hermann Vaske explores the creative Balkan world in the hopes of understanding the meaning of "Balkan spirit".
Balkan Spirit

Loving young couple Luna and Amar try their best to overcome unexpected obstacles that threaten their relationship. After Amar's dramatic change in a fundamentalist community, Luna tears herself apart searching if love is truly enough to keep the couple together on the path to a lifetime of happiness...
On the Path

Teens Linda and Eta are inseparable friends, though they have plenty of disagreements, but one horrific argument has unexpected consequences.
Cure: The Life of Another

The armed conflicts of the 1990s not only visibly destroyed the land of the former Yugoslavia, but also left the deepest wounds in the memory of each of its belligerent nations. There are as many different interpretations of that bleak past as there are countries affected. It is therefore hard to expect absolute harmony when, less than two decades since the war ended, a diverse group of veterans gathers at a remote mountain hotel for a therapy session over several days. On the contrary, such a dangerously volatile situation can suddenly ignite by just one thoughtless word, or a seemingly dirty look. That’s because the former soldiers, obstinately holding on to their fundamental masculinity and their prejudices, refusing to expose the inhumanity of the atrocities perpetrated. However, this quietness is just about to be broken and hidden emotions are to be faced.
Men Don't Cry

Routinely, but with dedication, Mare runs her small family’s modest household, even though a new washing machine is not the only thing that is missing. When a chance encounter rekindles her libido, she does not hold back for long.
Mare
In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Srebrenica in 1995, Aida, receiving word that her sons who were taken by Serbian forces may be alive and held in a camp, launches a desperate search through a refugee center crowded with thousands of displaced women. As hope collides with silence, the women come to the realization that no outside help is coming unless they help themselves. Led by Aida, they confront the injustice and deceptions of a political system built on backroom deals with war criminals.
Quo Vadis, Aida? – The Missing Link

Six young filmmakers from Central and East Europe developed shorts about the theme of 'generation'.
Lost and Found

The history of Bosnian cinematography over 75 years of existence.
Scenes from the Life of BH Film

A pregnant French woman lives in Sarajevo with her Bosnian husband and their daughter. They vacation at a Croatian island, where things get complicated when they all become attracted to a beautiful woman.
Love Island

Causes and consequences of the assassination that happened in Sarajevo a hundred years ago still continue to reverberate in Europe. On June 28, 1914 Gavrilo Princip assassinated the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Franz Ferdinand sparking World War I that marked the start of the 20th century. As Sarajevo commemorated the centennial of the assassination, different people had different interpretations of what happened in the city a century ago and different emotions about it. ONE DAY IN SARAJEVO tells about various perspectives of the anniversary in Sarajevo combining and contrasting footage filmed by citizens of Sarajevo (with small cameras and mobile phones) with scenes from feature films about the assassination by directors from Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the United Kingdom
One Day in Sarajevo

A documentary about Sarajevo’s preeminent Yugoslav-era businessman and mayor, Emerik Blum, and the inner workings of his engineering company, Energoinvest.
Blum: Masters of Their Own Destiny

Jasna searches for the remains of her two children who were killed and buried in the mass grave by Serbian Army. She gathers all available information and inspects mass grave sites hoping to find the red rubber boots her son wore the day he was abducted.
Red Rubber Boots
Bilja was seriously wounded in the 1992 shelling of Sarajevo. A French photographer took pictures of her while she lay bleeding and desperately begging for help; pictures of Bilja's wounds made him famous. Zbanic searches for Bilja and reconstructs the moment when news became more important than her life.
Images from the Corner

Four months after the end of the war, four young people from Sarajevo share their experience, their thoughts and their hopes for the future, walking around the city in ruin.