Djeca / Children
Rahima (23) and Nedim (14) are orphans of the Bosnian war. They live in Sarajevo, a transitional society that has lost its moral compass, including in the way it treats children of the people who were killed fighting for the freedom of their city. After crime-prone adolescent years, Rahima has found comfort in Islam and she hopes her brother will follow in her footsteps. Their life of bare survival becomes even more difficult after Nedim gets into a fistfight with the son of a local strongman and breaks his expensive mobile phone. This incident triggers a chain of events leading Rahima to the discovery that her brother leads a double life.
Crew
- Screenwriter and director: Aida Begić
- Cinematographer: Erol Zubčević
- Editor: Miralem S. Zubčević
- Sound designer: Igor Čamo
- Production designer: Sanda Popovac
- Costume designer: Sanja Džeba
- Make up artist: Jana Schulze
Cast
Marija Pikic, Ismir Gagula, Bojan Navojec, Sanela Pepeljak, Vedran Djekic, Mario Knezovic, Jasna Beri, Nikola Djuricko, Stasa Dukic, Aleksandar Seksan, Velibor Topic, Ravijojla Jovancic, Mirela Lambic, Sadzida Setic, Semir Krivic, Adnan Omerovic, Mehmed Porca, Vedrana Bozinovic, Sabit Sejdinovic
Awards
- Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard - Special distinction of Jury Award
- Sarajevo Film Festival: Cineuropa Award, Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress
- Pesaro Film Festival: Lino Micciche Award for the Best Film, Pesaro Young Cinema Award, Amnesty Italia Cinema and Human Rights Award
- Mediterranean Film Festival Brisel: Special Jury Award, Best Actress
- Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival: João Bénard da Costa Special Jury Award
- Tbilisi Film Festival: Special Jury Award
- Festival of Film and Women Florence: Seal of Piece Award
- LIFFE Festival Serbia: Best Directing Award
- Montenegro FIlm Festival: Best Director and Best Actress Award
- Gijon Film Festival: Best Art Direction
- Mojkovac Film Festival Serbia: Best Actress Award
- DJECA - Bosnian Candidate for American Academy Award Oscar
- American Society of Sound Editors: Nomination for Best Sound Editing, Sound Design, ADR
Reviews
A broken family serves as a metaphor for a damaged society in "Children of Sarajevo," the ambitious second feature from Bosnian helmer-writer Aida Begic
— Alissa Simon, Variety
Necessarily sober and quietly challenging, the Un Certain Regard entry shows a filmmaker whose passion for her subject has now twinned with a maturing proficiency to deliver a drama of some power
— Megan Lehmann, The Hollywood Reporter
Aida Begic’s Children Of Sarajevo (Djeca) is a passionately stark story of the strength of family, driven by an intense sense of honour and compassion
— Mark Adams, Screen Daily
In this strange, haunting film, the Bosnian war keeps bubbling from up where it has been buried.
— Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian