PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

In July 1995, the Serbian army ignores a formal United Nations ultimatum and begins a brazen siege of the small Bosnian mountain town of Srebrenica. English teacher Aida (Jasna Ðuričić) and her family find themselves among over 30,000 displaced citizens seeking shelter in a UN-operated base on the outskirts of town, designed to house only a few thousand. Aida’s skills as a translator enable her to eventually bargain her way inside. But safety comes at a cost: she becomes party to the negotiations and to crucial information, which puts her in an ethical bind as the conflict escalates around them.

Written and directed by Jasmila Žbanić – herself a survivor of the Bosnian War – this gripping, Oscar-nominated film is a masterful look at courage and resilience in the face of war’s devastating human toll. And it’s all accomplished without depicting anything more violent than a slap in the face.