Esma's Secret - Grbavica (2006)
"Grbavica" (original title)

A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.

Director:

Jasmila Zbanic

Writer:

Jasmila Zbanic

Stars:

Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Mijovic, Leon Lucev

9 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mirjana Karanovic	...	Esma
Luna Mijovic	...	Sara
Leon Lucev	...	Pelda
Kenan Catic	...	Samir
Jasna Beri	...	Sabina (as Jasna Ornela Berry)
Dejan Acimovic	...	Cenga
Bogdan Diklic	...	Saran
Emir Hadzihafizbegovic	...	Puska
Ermin Bravo	...	Teacher Muha
Semka Sokolovic-Bertok	...	Pelda's Mother (as Semka Sokolovic)
Maike Höhne	...	Jabolka
Jasna Zalica	...	Plema
Nada Djurevska	...	Aunt Safija
Emina Muftic	...	Vasvija (as Minka Muftic)
Dunja Pasic	...	Mila

Storyline

Set against the backdrop of a former Yugoslavia of the nineteen-nineties, this is a single mother's anguish of how one must deal with truths and how to cope with a war's terrible past. With a twelve year old daughter to bring-up, both mother and child come head-to-head when a school trip is in the air and complications and rude awakenings arise from the ashes' of the cold and callous days of conflict, xenophobia and its secrets.

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Plot Keywords:

school trip | sarajevo | money | single mother | mother daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Coop99 [at] (German, English) Official site [ba] (Bosnian, English)

Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Austria Germany

Language:

Bosnian

Release Date:

6 July 2006 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

Filming Locations:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,974 (USA) (16 February 2007)

Gross:

$43,060 (USA) (8 June 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coop 99, Deblokada, Noirfilm Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luna Mijovic broke her leg when shooting the football scene.

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Connections

Features Sleeping Beauties (1999)

User Reviews

plain simple and heartbreaking

Very simply a honest, straightforward and earnest film about a topic that is just so important to be informed about and discussed.

The camera-work is so to the point, so is every little piece of direction. The acting is sharp, clear and real all the way through. - I was hoping for Mirjana Karanovic (as well as Luna Mijovic) to win the Bear for their incredibly focused performances. Well, they didn't get it, shame, I thought, but then again, a golden bear for best film is not so bad either...! So congratulations to Jasmila and the whole team and the four different producers from four countries making this possible in joint effort! -

And given all these plain and clear ingredients, what you end up with is one of the most moving "movies" I have seen for a very long time.

This film is not about reinventing the wheel, it is simply all about showing how incredibly well a well made wheel can work.