„Quo Vadis, Aida?” by a Bosnian directress Jasmila Žbanić won 3 awards at the 34th European Film Awards.
The Jury awarded:
1. the film
2. the directress
3. the Serbian actress: Jasna Djuričić (playing the main character)
The film also received award of the audience.
„Quo Vadis, Aida?” was also an Oscar Best International Feature Film nominee.
„Aida” in a naturalistic, yet subtle manner shows genocide in Srebrenica in 1995 from the mother’s perspective. The topic, along with other Bosnian issues, is rarely discussed in Europe today.
The inspiration for the main character was Hasan Nuhanović, interpreter for the UN in Srebrenica in 1995. He then lost his entire family and for this reason he devoted his further life to seeking justice in courts, as an activist and author of books.
You can read about his experiences in the following books:
1. Under the UN flag: The International Community and the Srebrenica Genocide = Pod zastavom UN – međunarodna zajednica i genocid u Srebrenici, 2005
2. Last Refuge: A True Story of War, Survival and Life Under Siege in Srebrenica = Zbijeg – Put u Srebrenicu, 2012
The role of Tarik, the second interpreter at the UN base, was most likely inspired by Emir Suljagić, Bosnian politician, former member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the founder of the People’s Front (Građanski Savez) party in 2016.
Since 2019 he has been the head of Srebrenica Memorial Center – a cemetery and monument to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, that everyone should visit while in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If you want to explore the genocide in Srebrenica from Emir Suljagić’s perspective, you should read „Postcards from the grave”.
Regarding the credible information on the crime, also ICTY webpage comes handy: https://www.icty.org/en/outreach/documentaries/srebrenica-genocide-no-room-for-denial
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