Jasmila Žbanić

Jasmila Žbanić (born 19 December 1974) is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter.

Jasmila Žbanić
Jasmila Žbanić at the 2010 KVIFF
Born (1974-12-19) 19 December 1974
Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter
Years active1998–present
Awards

Early life

Žbanić was born in Sarajevo in 1974, to Bosniak parents. Žbanić went to local schools before attending the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo, where she got a degree.[1] She worked for a time in the United States as a puppeteer in the Vermont-based Bread and Puppet Theater and as a clown in a Lee De Long workshop. In 1997, she founded the artist's association "Deblokada" and started making documentaries and short films.

Career

Žbanić went to the United States in order to work as a puppeteer in the Vermont-based Bread and Puppet Theater. She also learned to act as a clown in a Lee De Long workshop.

After her return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, she founded the artists' association "Deblokada" (meaning "de-blocking.")[2] Through Deblokada, Žbanić wrote and produced many documentaries, video artworks, and short films.[2] Her work has been seen around the globe, screened in film festivals and shown at exhibitions such as the Manifesta 3 in Slovenia in 2000, the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel in 2004, and the Istanbul Biennale in 2003.[2] Since then she has made well-received feature films.

Žbanić's 2006 feature film Grbavica, won the Golden Bear at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival,[3] the Grand Jury Prize at the International Feature Competition Festival in 2006, and was awarded the Best European Film and best European actress award in 2006.[2] Her 2010 film Na putu (On the Path), which explores the relationship of a young couple living in Sarajevo,[4] was screened at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.[5]

Themes and characters

Žbanić acknowledges that her films deal chiefly with people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She says that she uses film to explore problems and issues relating to her life. She knows that she is up against high standards of film in competition with the mass of other regional cinematography.[6] Žbanić strives to create characters that are not just "black and white," as real people are not that simple.[6] She does not create characters who are strict saints and heroes, but who might be weak and also brave and tolerant.[6] In 2017, Žbanić has signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.[7]

Filmography

Awards

References
  1. http://www.cineuropa.org/it.aspx?t=interview&l=en&did=69181
  2. "On The Path". The Match Factory. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  3. Holdsworth, Nick (16 February 2010). "Woman on the path to directing". Variety. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. "'Na Putu': a sublime film of compassion by Jasmila Zbanic". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  5. "Hollywood Reporter: Berlin festival unveils full lineup". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  6. Žbanić, Jasmila. "Jasmila Žbanić: Nikoga ne zanima to što Bosna nema kameru ili što je tu bio rat". Oslobodenje. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. Derk, Denis (28 March 2017). "Donosi se Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku Hrvata, Srba, Bošnjaka i Crnogoraca" [A Declaration on the Common Language of Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins is About to Appear]. Večernji List (in Serbo-Croatian). Zagreb: Večernji list. pp. 6–7. ISSN 0350-5006. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
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