Snow (2008 film)

Snow (Bosnian title: Snijeg) is the 2008 debut film by Aida Begić.

Plot

The movie takes place in autumn 1997, in the small Bosniak village of Slavno, in central Bosnia. Only the women and girls are left, along with an old grandfather and a little boy. All of the men have disappeared on account of the Bosnian war.

The most entrepreneurial of the women, Alma, a young widow, attempts to help the families survive by producing plum jam and pastries, but the village is too far away from the market to have any customers. Accidentally, she and another women meet a truck-driver from Zvornik, named Hamza, who offers to carry the goods to the market for them on the following Wednesday. However, he does not show up as agreed.

Suddenly Miro and Marc, agents of a Serb-backed foreign company, enter the town and propose to buy the whole area for 70,000 marks. After discussing the proposal, half of the women of the village agree, hoping to gain a better life in town. However, Alma and her old and ill mother-in-law Safija resist, even as winter approaches and the village is at risk to remain completely isolated from the outer world. Following a malfunction of their car and a sudden storm, the contract dealers are forced to remain in the village: one of them, Miro, is injured, and finally reveals that the bodies of the lost children are buried in the Blue Cave. All of the villagers travel to find the remains and reconcile with their memories. The day after, the first snow begins falling down softly, as Hamza, the truck-driver who proposed to carry their goods to market, drives in.

Cast

• Zana Marjanović - Alma
• Jazna Ornela Bery - Nadija
• Sadžida Šetić - Jasmina
• Vesna Mašić - Safija
• Emir Hadžihafizbegović - Mehmed
• Irena Mulamuhić - Nena Fatima
• Jelena Kordić - Sabrina
• Jasmin Geljo - Miro
• Dejan Spasić - Marc
• Alma Terzić - Lejla
• Muhamed Hadžović - Hamza
• Benjamin Đip - Ali
• Nejla Keškić - Zehra
• Mirna Ždralović - Hana
• Emina Mahmutagić - Azra

Awards

The film was awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes' Critic's Week,^[1] as well as the special prize of the jury at the Chungmuro Film Festival.^[2][3] In addition, was awarded The Church of Iceland Award (from the New Vision category), at the Reykjavik International Film Festival,^[4] as well as Brizzolara Family Award for Films of Conflict and Resolution, at the Hamptons International Film Festival.^[5] The film had also won the Odyssée cinema/Council of Europe Human Rights prize (at the Etoiles et Toiles du cinéma européen festival),^[6] Jury's Special Mention at the Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema,^[7] as well as Special Mention at the 14th Festival on Wheels.^[8] The film was awarded special prize for freedom of expression at "Festival autorskog filma" (Belgrade),^[9] and at the Trieste Film Festival it won the Special Award of the Jury and the Audience award.^[10]

At the Fajr International Film Festival the film won the awards for best direction and best film,^[11] while at Birds eye View Film Festival it won an award for the best feature film.^[12] At the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, Begić won the New Directors Award.^[13] The film won the main prize, the Capital Focus Award, at the Filmfest DC 2009^[14] as well as the special award of the jury at the Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival,^[15] and it was also pronounced the Grand Prix winner of the Prague International Film Festival.^[16] At the Sguardi Altrove International Women's Film Festival, the film received the special mention.^[17] Begić also won the award for the best screenplay at the International Festival of Muslim Cinema.^[18]

The film has been nominated for the European Discovery Award (a part of European Film Awards),^[19] and it was also chosen as a candidate of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.^[20]

References

External links

• Official website
• Videos on making of "Snow"
• Snow on IMDb