Sarajevo: Shelved Memories (2010)
Cinéma Humain Films | Human Rights | War and Conflict
Genre: Narrative Film (Documemory)
Estimated Duration: 53 minutes
Topic: Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1995
In association with: Blue Hippo Media and The University of Reading.
Cast: Marko Cindric, David Stephenson, Lee Garrett, Henry Douthwaite, Lachlan MacCall, Jeremy Drakes, Lieve Carchon, Kristina Dargelyte, Robert Cohen, Lloyd Morris, Robin Weston.
Festivals: Swansea Bay Film Festival (May 2010), The Heart of England International Film Festival (August 2010), The International Film Festival of Ireland (September 2010), Sheffield Doc/Fest Videotheque (November 2010)
Conferences: ‘Visible Evidence’ (August 2010), ‘Acting with Facts’ (September 2010), ‘Documentary Now!’ (January 2011)
Nominated: Learning on Screen Awards 2011 (British Universities Film & Video Council), Best Film over 50 minutes (Swansea Bay Film Festival 2010), Documentary Europe (Heart of England International Film Festival 2010
Sarajevo: Shelved Memories is an experimental reflection on documented events that occurred during the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1995). Framed by the memories of two survivors (Vladan and Malcolm), their documented experiences present a noticeable tension feeding on conflicting emotions such as apathy and guilt, hatred and empathy, resolve and disillusionment, aid and exploitation. This problematic tension is consciously articulated within the film by theatrically re-creating the veterans’ memories and bringing these into a dialogue with archive footage and the interviews themselves. In this way the style of Shelved Memories draws specific attention to the nature of memory and human emotion confronted by the trauma of Europe’s most recent war.