Children of Sarajevo

Winner of a special mention from the Un Certain Regard jury at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, this shattering second feature from Bosnian director Aida Begić (Snow) traces the precarious fates of two orphaned siblings struggling to survive in the aftermath of the Balkan wars. Determined to make a better future for her 14-year-old brother Nedim, 23-year-old Rahima (played by the excellent Marija Pikić) works long hours in a restaurant and tries to show Nedim the solace she has found in her Muslim faith. But at school, Nedim is bullied by the son of a local politician, and when he decides to fight back, the incident triggers a chain of events that lead Rahima to discover that her young brother leads a double life. Skillfully shot in an observant, naturalistic manner reminiscent of the Dardenne brothers, Children of Sarajevo presents a haunting portrait of a region where the armed conflict may have ended, but the suffering continues.