No Man´s Land

Colour, 35mm
France/Italy/Belgium/United Kingdom/Slovenia, 2000, 98 min
Section: Horizons - Awarded Films

Synopsis

This satiric a story of two soldiers from enemy camps takes place in 1993 during the war in Bosnia. A Bosnian soldier named Čiki and his seriously wounded companion find themselves in a trench in no man’s land with Nino, a Serbian soldier. Soon enough, they begin with insults and recriminations, arguing about which country started the circle of violence. It seems as if there is no end to it but the situation calls for a solution. It may be within reach: a UNIFOR unit is nearby and French sergeant Marchand is trying his best to help. But it isn’t easy to get round regulations concerning the conduct of forces entrusted with maintaining peace. The commander orders them to avoid involvement at all costs. The media are closely watching developments in this extreme situation, and while for them it’s a matter of a scoop, for Čiki and Nino it’s a matter of life and death. “The language spoken by the Serbians, the Croatians and the Bosnians is in fact the same. Call it Serbian, Croatian or Bosnian, but they all understand each other perfectly,” observes director Danis Tanović.

About the director

Danis Tanović (b. 1969, Bosnia-Herzegovina) has Bosnian and Belgian citizenship. He studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Sarajevo and directed the Archive of Documentary Films during the first two years of the war. His news footage of the conflict was used by agencies around the world. In 1995-97, he studied direction in Brussels, where he shot a number of documentaries.