Jasmila Žbanić is a Bosnian writer, director, and producer. Her feature debut “Grbavica” won the 2006 Berlinale Golden Bear. She followed it up with 2010’s “On the Path” and 2013’s “For Those Who Can Tell No Tales.”
“Quo Vadis, Aida?” is now available on VOD. The drama just received an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
JZ: “Quo Vadis, Aida?” is the story of Aida, a woman who is trying to rescue her family under the most terrible circumstance of war. Betrayed by United Nation forces, who were supposed to protect them, Aida is trying to find safety within the male war structure.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
JZ: The pain of the people who had been killed just because they were “others” and the betrayal by those who were supposed to protect us.
Only 25 years ago, this genocide happened in the heart of Europe. The United Nations had a mission to protect the people of Srebrenica, but when the Serbian army arrived, they basically let them kill 8,372 Bosnians. The shock from the fact that the institution that is supposed to protect us allowed this massacre to happen and that the rest of the world passively watched these killings made me want to tell this story.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
JZ: I would like audiences to feel the world and life of Aida, and to think how fragile our societies are — how something so unimaginable can come so quickly, and how we humans can deal with it.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
JZ: Fights with the political structures in my region, ex-Yugoslavia which is Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and others. Many of the political forces in power did not want this story to be told.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
JZ: We had film funds from nine European countries and three TV stations. We also received help from Eurimages, the European institution that supports independent filmmakers.
We also had many individuals who helped us with small contributions. In Bosnia, where an average budget for film is usually one million euros (about $1.2 million USD), having a plan to make a movie that is 4.5 million euros (about $5.4 million USD) sounded like mission impossible. We did it with the help of many great people.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
JZ: I was a child when I decided to be a director. I was interested in films and theater as a way to communicate stories, to bring people together and feel the same things at the same time.
I remember a moment when I was a child. I was watching a film in a cinema full of people — at one moment everyone started crying at the same time. For me that was magic! That light on a white surface can make all people in the cinema cry at the same time. I was in awe.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
JZ: For filmmaking I guess the worst was when a male colleague, an Oscar winner, told me I should be at home with my kid and not work as a director because it is not a job for women. And the best advice, which I think I got from my husband, is to be patient.
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
JZ: The process of filmmaking is structured as a male business. My advice would be to recognize all aspects of it and change it – not to try to fit in.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
JZ: My favorite woman director is Věra Chytilová. She was an incredible creative talent, funny and brave. I also admire Lina Wertmüller, Agnès Varda, and many others. But all of them I had to discover after film school.
Not a single female name was mentioned in our film history books. We never talked about any female directors during my four years of university education. I am sure there are still so many female directors I don’t know.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
JZ: I’m a screenwriter, so I was writing a lot. But, in between two COVID lockdowns in Europe, we managed to have a public premiere of “Quo Vadis, Aida?” at the Venice Film Festival. That was such an amazing experience because we met with a real audience and our team was there. It was really beautiful. Now, the film is mostly in digital/virtual distribution, though it is also currently playing in cinemas in New York and Sweden.
At the moment I am doing a lot of Zoom interviews for our Academy Awards campaign. We were lucky enough to have been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film, so there’s been plenty to do even when one cannot travel. (Update: Oscar nominations were announced this morning and “Quo Vadis, Aida?” received a nomination.)
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive?
JZ: Representation is a symptom, but the real problem is our society. We have to change the society that is racist parallel to changing representation. It is a vicious circle — one cannot work without the other, that is why one has to be changed if we want to change the other one. Doing everything possible to change a society that is unjust to many people of color, women, the LGBTQ population, Muslims, atheists, refugees, etcetera is the duty of filmmakers.
