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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

Going Diaspora

A young man is about to leave Bosnia for Luxembourg in search for a better life there, and says goodbye to the city he grew up in.

Synopsis

Hasan is leaving his home country Bosnia for a country with better opportunities, Luxembourg. He has finally managed to find a job there after a long, unsuccessful search back home. He spends his final day in Sarajevo as he says farewell to the city he grew up in and to his mother, while reflecting upon a promise he made to a friend a long time ago and is about to break. Turns out that leaving his city and mother behind isn’t as easy as he thought it would be.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Luxemburg | 2022 | 17 min

DIRECTOR: Damir Mehic

PRODUCTION: Rasit Gorgulu, Damir Mehic – Bor Media Balkan

CAST: Dino Bajrovic, Vanesa Glodjo, Lidija Kordic

SCREENPLAY: Damir Mehic

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Vedat Demir

EDITING: Aid Besic

SCREENING: Friday 25 November / 15:00h / Zaal 4 & Sunday 27 November / 11:00h / Zaal 5

The screening on Sunday the 28th will be followed by a Q&A with the director Damir Mehic. Dutch Premiere

Director’s statement

What is home for us? What does it mean to us? What does it mean to leave our home, for another country, leaving everything you know behind? These are questions that many young people in Bosnia, as well young people from the entire Balkans and Southeastern Europe, are currently asking themselves, being in a dilemma if they want to continue their life in the region, or move up to the West. And this is exactly what this movie is all about; the dilemma that many young people have, based on the biggest political and social crisis that Bosnia & Hercegovina, as well as its neighboring countries all around the Balkans, are currently facing.

The film was made based on my many interrogations with people who moved away from the Balkan region up west and their experiences to move away. It is based on the many similar stories that we hear from the people who leave the region. And this film has the ability to speak to the people who moved to the West, it can speak and touch the people who have been in the same situation as Hasan in the film and those who are undergoing the same dilemma. It is a universal story about immigration, what it means to leave your family, your country, your roots, and its cultural context, and everything you know for the unknown.

Director’s bio

Damir Mehic is a Luxembourg born filmmaker of Bosnian and Montenegrin origins. Now he is 21 years old, a student at Lodz Film School in Poland. He has written film reviews for the newspaper “Woxx” and for his school newspaper and participated twice as a Youth Jury of the Luxembourg City Film Festival as well at the Young European Cinephiles program of the LUCAS Film Festival. He participated as Juror and Ambassador at Giornate degli Autori this year as part of the “27 Times Cinema”. 

Festivals & Awards (selection)

Sarajevo Film Festival, 2022 | Herceg Novi Film Festival, 2022