V E B A H O O D

If a road takes you to Sarajevo, don’t miss Život je Lijep (Life is Beautiful), a series of wartime photographs taken in Sarajevo during the siege, by one of the greatest photographer around Milomir Kovačević Strašni. This kind of war photography you’ve never seen before.

Murmansk, Russia 2010 © Velibor Božović

Recently, on The Online Photographer, I read the story about Voja Mitrovic, the great printer of some great photographers, Cartier-Bresson and Kudelka being most notable. While Voja’s story told is very interesting there is an untold story in there, briefly mentioned, that I keep thinking about: the story about a 1950′s local photographer in Foča, a small town in eastern Bosnia, named Radmilo Mazic.

“Voja was born in Foča, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, part of the former Yugoslavia, in 1937. His father was killed during the war when he was four years old, and from this early age, he became aware that he would have to work to help his mother and family. He came to photography by accident—his family had a cow, and daily he would deliver a liter of milk to the house of a local photographer named Radmilo Mazic. One day this photographer asked Voja’s mother if her son would like to be his photographic apprentice. In Sept., 1953, Voja began to work as Mazic’ apprentice. Mazic had studied photography at a school in Zagreb with teachers from the Ecole de Graphisme of Vienna.”

I’ve passed through Foča a couple of years back and it was the most depressing little town one can imagine, full of scars from the latest war installment in which some locals enthusiastically killed, raped and send to refuge their Muslim neighbors.  I can only imagine Foča back in the 1950′s, back then even smaller town recovering from the previous war installment that didn’t lack in atrocity either. But in 50′s Foča lived and worked Radmilo Mazic who had studied photography in Zagreb!

I would love to see Mazic’s portraits from the 50′s even more then to hold Voja’s prints, but I don’t believe the archive of his work could possibly survive all this time.

Once I inquired about the archives of another small town photographer to find out that they do not exist. I am pretty sure I will never really know much about Radmilo Mazic and his work and I wonder how many small town photographer’s archives, how many photographed faces, simply disappeared in the last few decades, never to be seen again.

Sarajevo, BiH, 2005 © Velibor Božović

I’ve started, occasionally, to introduce some things Bosnian to my international friends. There will be no in-depth articles but mainly pointers so those interested could investigate further.

I am not a historian and I do not approach history books with expectation to learn how and why certain events unfolded; I surely do not expect to learn the truth, if there is such a thing. But I enjoy reading history books for the stories they tell. And Sarajevo, A Biography written by Robert J. Donia certainly has an interesting story to tell.

While the valley, where Sarajevo is today, was inhabited long before the arrival of Ottomans, it was them who started the urbanization of existing settlements sometimes in 15th century. So Sarajevo was founded. The story follows: a few hundred years under the Ottoman Empire, followed by the rule of Austro-Hungarian Empire, WWI that started when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, WWII and new Yugoslavia, 1984 Winter Olympics and finally the siege of 1992-1995. Even though it deals with all these great subjects the book brings to life people, individuals, which makes this history book a very intimate read.

What gives this book the edge, for me, over some other similar titles recently written by foreigners (Westerners) is that 50 years of socialist Yugoslavia is not only a footnote but a period that was equally examined to other eventful times. I remember my feeling of unease after finishing Noel Malcolm’s Bosnia, A Short History. While the book was a great read I was left with a question what happened to the country both mine and my parents generation was defined with, did it at all exist? Malcolm, it seemed to me, didn’t give any importance (nor sympathy) to socialist Yugoslavia, and Bosnia, and it left me confused. Robert J. Donia shows much more respect to this 50 years period. The book even shows the photograph of youth brigades building Koševo soccer stadium in 1947.

It is all about a storytelling; the city of Sarajevo offers a great story and Robert J. Donia tells this story beautifully.  The book carries interesting photographs and illustrations and that sometimes is a great treat, starting with a wonderful postcard from 1910 that graces its cover.

Jasmila Žbanić, Toronto, 2006 © Velibor Božović

So far, this blog only contained snippets, personal thoughts and my photographs. From now on, occasionally, I will be introducing things Bosnian to my international friends. There will be no in-depth articles but mainly pointers so those interested could investigate further.

I cheer for all things Bosnian… that is, all good things coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which might not be many unfortunately. Sometimes though, I know if something is good, or not, even before I see it. One of those good things coming is On the Path.

Berlin Interntional Film Festival is fast approaching and the new film ‘On the Path’ (‘Na putu’) by Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić will be in the program. Jasmila has already won Golden Bear in Berlin in 2006 with her first feature film, beautiful Grbavica. It is the best movie to come out from the region after the YU deconstruction. Apart from the talent, is the courage of this young women that stands out. Her films deal with themes that not many Bosnians talk about at ease even in private. But also, even though set in the post-war years Grbavica carries this sensibility that is native to Sarajevo from the 80′s.  I don’t believe anyone who grew up in Sarajevo in 70′s and 80′s could watch the final sequence and not have flashbacks and consequently shed a tear.

It is hard not to admire women who even dreams to become a film director in today’s Bosnia (or any other Bosnia for that matter) not to mention a woman that has become a successful one. She is young, courageous and very, very talented. It is an unlikely story and all the more exciting because of it.

Grbavica, or Esma’s Secret which is the English title, is available on DVD even in your local Blockbuster store, go and watch it.