MY OWN PRIVATE WAR
Lidija Zelovic| Director | Lidija Zelovic |
| Producer | Margie Monfils - IKON docs (NL); Forum (BIH), Zelovic Productions (NL) |
| Writer | Lidija Zelovic, Rogier Kappers |
| Editor | Alexander Goekjian |
| Camera | Alexander Goekjian, Marinus Groothof, Lidija Zelovic, Tatjana Bozic |
| Sound | Sam Simons, Rogier Kappers |
| Screening | 8/9 November 2018 | Filmhuis Den Haag |
| Year | 2016 |
| Length | 57 min |
| Country | The Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Subtitles | Dutch |
| Age Recommendation | 12+ |
One of the most honest and exciting films that deals with the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told from the personal experience of the filmmaker.
Synopsis
Sarajevo-born filmmaker revisits her most traumatic period in life. What happens when collective trauma enters a family? A story told from the personal point of view of the filmmaker who experienced the war in many layers: intimate, family related, as a mother and a daughter, as a professional, as a world citizen who tries to understand odds of nationalism and hatred. Is there any wisdom gained from what one has observed and encountered? Lidija’s film confronts us with challenging questions. What is left of each of us once we got displaced? What happens to a family long after a war is over? Can one ensure that their children don’t have to carry their burden? In this very personal documentary, the director makes an inner journey through her memories, places and people she loves as she tries to leave her past behind her.
Director's statement
Ever since the war came into my life, I’ve been trying to except the loss of my world. And I’ve been trying to make the most truthful and honest film about the war. I needed to stop the war inside of my head, for myself and for my son… Every film is personal one way or another. But this film is step further. It was a need, a desperation to tell the story, to express myself. Putting puzzles together, and after finishing the film have better overlook on the past, to be able to go on. I thought I have a responsibility as a mother to be a complete person. It was more than a film. It was full of fragility, that’s what people connect to.
Festivals & Awards (selection)
Visions du Réel, International Documentary FF, Nyon 2016 – World Premiere | Jihlava International Documentary FF, Czech Republic 2016 – Special Mention | PriMed, International Festival of Mediterranean Documentary Film and Reportage, Marseille 2016 – Memory of the Mediterranean Award | Free Zone International Human Rights FF, Belgrade 2016 – Human Rights Award | Sevastopol International Festival of Documentary Films and TV, 2016 – Festival Director’s Award | Sarajevo Film Festival, 2016
TOPICS
Refugees/Asylum, Human rights, Trauma, Resettlement, Bosnian War, Conflict in former Yugoslavia, Politics/Society, Archive footage, War Journalism, Ethics in media, History (with a POV), Personal Documentary, Author’s point of view, Intimate Portrait, Interpersonal communications, Youth, Identity, Memory