download complete sarajevo pdf - Spike Art Quarterly

with a lot of artists in Sarajevo, such as the photographer Damir
Šagolj, film director Faruk Lončarević and writer Peđa Kojević and
I find these contacts very vibrant and professionally helpful.
What was it that made you decide to leave the centre of the film industry and
come to Sarajevo Is this socio-political and cultural context inspiring
My decision to come back to Sarajevo was inspired by two
aspects that are, of course, interwoven. It was both a personal and
professional decision. If I had to rationalize such a choice I would
say that you can only do minimalism in a place that you are familiar
with, and they call me »minimalist«, though it wasn’t a conscious
artistic choice. Actually, it was the way things unfolded naturally
for me. Certainly I am happy to be back because this is the place
where I made a breakthrough in my career and made movies like
the documentaries Interrogation, and Believers as well as the feature
film Nightguards.
It is valid to
have war as an
inspiration as
long as it
comes out of
you naturally
You do not work with issues related to the recent war or not in a direct way,
as do most of the local artists and film directors. Do you think they achieve
visibility and success internationally by exploiting war-related topics
The war has defined me for sure. I guess
you cannot choose an inspiration, not in an
ontological way, and you can only deal with
things that are chosen for you on a more subconscious
level. It is valid to have war as an
inspiration as long as it comes out of you naturally.
Once you start constructing the war as
an inspiration because you think the audience
will find it interesting, either a domestic or foreign
audience, you will probably get into the
slippery political position of potential self-victimization.
It hasn’t happened even once in history
that a people or entire nations got trapped in such a way.
Film is the only art form that is being supported by the Ministries of Culture
in this country. Do you feel film directors are privileged in comparison to
local artists
Since the international success of the film No Man’s Land in
2001, which won the Oscar for best foreign film, Bosnian filmmakers
have gotten more attention from the government in terms
of formal support, which you could call a privilege. At the same
time, I have the impression that artists from other fields expect the
film professionals to fight for their rights, as well. This is a bit unrealistic,
since nobody fought for filmmaker’s rights in Bosnia but
the filmmakers themselves. ——
207
Namik Kabil was born
in 1968 in Tuzla. Before
the war in Bosnia and
Herzegovina he was a
medical student. The war
changed his professional
direction and he ended up
in Los Angeles where he
studied cinema. In 2002
he returned to Sarajevo
where he currently works
as a screenwriter and
director. His documentary
Interrogation was named
the best documentary
film by the Sarajevo Film
Festival and the feature
film Nightguards premiered
at the 65th Venice Film
Festival in 2008.
Sarajevo
SPIKE ART GUIDE EAST 01 — 2009
Sarajevo