MOSTAR UNITED

Historically important and attractive for tourists, after the war in the 1990s the beautiful city of Mostar has lived its peace as a divided city, separated on two sides by the Neretva River. The film is part of our Focus program which emphasizes some of the aberrations of “united” Europe that at several vulnerable spots, even 30 years after the Berlin Wall fell, is still divided.

Synopsis

For four years Italian director followed a football enthusiast and Bosnian war veteran in his struggle against nationalism. While his fighting in the war ended in the mid-nineties, the fight he didn’t anticipate at the time is still ongoing. Using football as his tool, Mensud Durakovic spends his days trying to coach boys from Croatian and Bosnian part of the city of Mostar. Football techniques are just part of his training, as the true focus of Mensud’s effort is to develop feelings of unity and mutual respect for kids from different communities. Football trainings are rare moments of overcoming divisions for kids who attend ethnically separated schools and live on different parts of the city, split by a magnificent river.