Bosnian gay movie wins hearts at Sarajevo film fest

By Daria Sito-Sucic

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – “The worst thing in the Balkans is to
be a gay,” says Kenan Dizdar, a character in Bosnian war film
“Go West” which has sparked angry debate about one of the great
taboos of Bosnian society.

Hatred of gays will persist even after Serbs, Muslims and
Croats stop fighting, he says: “They will lay down their
weapons, but they will continue to hate homosexuals.”

Go West was controversial long before it was even made. The
film follows two gay men, a Muslim and a Serb, who flee the
besieged Bosnian capital at the start of the war and try to
preserve their love.

Conservative and religious groups attacked director Ahmed
Imamovic and co-writer Enver Puska, saying they were exploiting
the sufferings of Muslims during the 1992-95 war in order to
find a wider audience for their movie in the West.

“You are identifying the Bosnian tragedy and 250,000 dead
with the story about two gays,” Muslim publicist Fatmir
Alispahic said on television last year when the film was still
being edited.

“If we are talking about some so-called gay love during the
war, then we give a totally wrong image of what happened here.”

On Saturday, Go West was shown in public for the first time
at the Sarajevo Film Festival, although it is not in the main
competition lineup. It gets its international premiere in
Montreal later this month.

An audience of around 2,500 gave the film a long standing
ovation in the central open-air cinema.

“These people were attacking a film they had not seen, and
there was no chance of dialogue then,” Puska told Reuters in an
interview. “But now we can talk.”

The 11th Sarajevo Film Festival, which began as an act of
defiance while the city was being shelled by Serbs from the
surrounding hills, has become the most important gathering of
film professionals and fans in the Balkans.

THEME OF INTOLERANCE

Puska said the story about two gay men of different
ethnicities was chosen to highlight a wider theme of
intolerance.

“Homosexuality is a taboo here. People are scared, they
don’t talk about that,” Puska said.

“But I was touched by the silence during the screening. I
could see the understanding in the eyes of people. I think that
we have slightly opened the door to tolerance with this film
about love and humanity.”

In the film, Muslim cellist Kenan and Serb sportsman Milan
flee Sarajevo at the beginning of the war in the hope of
finding safety in Milan’s native village.

In order to survive, each decides to change his identity —
the Muslim with a skirt and the Serb with a machine gun. Milan
disguises Kenan as his girlfriend and joins the Serb military
to try to save them.

Some spectators said they had not expected to enjoy the
film because of negative media reports.

“I had negative preconceptions but I liked the movie. It is
clear the two gay characters were chosen simply to show what
happens to two friends in war,” said Mujo Djapo, an engineer.

The war is portrayed as madness where common sense is lost.
Scenes of ethnic violence are interspersed with surrealistic
shots of pagan ritual and spiced with typical Balkan humor.

But humanity wins in the end. Milan’s father and a friend,
both Serbs, save Kenan after his lover dies and help him
escape.

“This film is a brilliant analysis of the situation here in
the Balkans,” said Ivica Pinjuh, a theater and film critic.