Archive of films Fuse / Gori vatra

Bosnia and Herzegovina / Austria / Turkey / France
2003, 105 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2004

Tešanj is a small Bosnian town living, two years after the war, with its daily sorrows and cares. Then news circulates that President Clinton will arrive with American advisors and specialists in the democratic and equitable organization of a multiethnic society. It’s just that the locals find this a sore point, and it’s no wonder… Locarno 2003: Silver Leopard for a first film.

Synopsis

The story of the fall of a family, which investigates day-to-day reality two years after the end of the Bosnian Civil War. It speaks of the incredible human ability to survive and to find faith in a better tomorrow. Tešanj is a small Bosnian town whose inhabitants must cope daily with the legacy of a war they still meet at every step. It´s not just about the loss of lives and property, but also about moral values and onetime traditions. The black market, corruption, prostitution and, above all, ethnic animosity are by-products which the locals accept, to a certain degree, with either understanding or resignation. But then news arrives that President Clinton is coming with American advisors and instructors, who are ready to instil in the local population their vision of the democratic and equitable organization of a multiethnic society. Decorating the town with photographs of the American president is no problem. Harder by far is trying to recreate "brotherhood and unity" among Bosnians, Croatians and Serbs.

About the director

Pjer Žalica (b. 1964, Sarajevo) graduated in direction from Sarajevo´s Academy of Performing Arts, where he now teaches, and took a course in screenwriting and production at the Grožnjan International Summer Film School (Croatia). He has won a number of top prizes at international festivals, primarily for the war documentaries School of Military Skills (Škola ratnih vještina, 1993), Made in Sarajevo (Godot Sarajevo, 1993), MGM Sarajevo (1994) and Children Like Any Others (Djeca kao i svaka druga, 1995). He also made the short The End of Unpleasant Times (Kraj doba neprijatnosti, 1998), and he co-authored Ademir Kenović´s first post-war film, The Perfect Circle (Savršeni krug, 1997). Žalica´s feature debut, Fuse, has met with rave reviews at home and abroad.

Contacts

Pyramide International
32 rue de l’Echiquier, 750 10, Paris
France
Tel: +33 142 960 220
Fax: +33 140 200 551
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.pyramidefilms.com

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Pjer Žalica
Screenplay:	Pjer Žalica
Dir. of Photography:	Mirsad Herović
Music:	Saša Lošić
Editor:	Almir Kenović
Producer:	Ademir Kenović
Production:	Refresh Production, koprodukce / co-production: Novotny & Novotny
Cast:	Enis Bešlagić, Bogdan Diklić, Saša Petrović, Izudin Bajrović, Jasna Žalica, Senad Bašić
Contact:	Pyramide International