CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO

Rahima is a fighter. She had to grow up fast from the get go: she’s been taking care of her nine-year-younger brother Nedim almost her whole life. Both of their parents died in the siege of Sarajevo. As an adolescent Rahima almost ended up getting mixed up with the wrong crowd, now she’s doing all she can to keep Nedin from going down that road. In present-day Sarajevo she struggles for survival and respect: she slaves away in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant only to be bullied by an ill-tempered chef. This award-winning film follows its young protagonist in intensive close-ups and long sequence shots through a life in which the echoes of war continue to resonate menacingly.