Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Not So Friendly Neighbourhood Affair

Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Danis Tanović / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey / 2021 / 94 min / Colour / DCP / In Bosnian / Arabic, English subtitles
Themes : Comedy, Drama
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.

Description

Enis and Izo are two friends living in the picturesque Old Town area of Sarajevo. Running similar restaurants across from each other, they don’t seem overly concerned that they are business competitors. On the contrary, Enis wants Izo to join him in his latest venture. But as Izo warns—if you do business with friends, you either mess up the business or you mess up the friendship. One day, everything changes for the pair when a seemingly harmless courtesy thrusts Izo and his now-famous “Cevapi”—a grilled dish of minced meat—into the national spotlight.

Izo does not welcome the increased attention or even the extra business. He’s far more concerned about the pandemic and having time to spend with his daughter and potential new grandkids to chase newfound success or wealth. Enis does not share his same worldview, already drowning in debt and used to flashy cars, he borrows the money for his new business from some unscrupulous gangsters. What follows is a deadpan series of comedic misunderstandings that leaves the whole town in turmoil and wondering who does have the best Cevapi in Sarajevo?

Director

Danis Tanović

Danis Tanović is a Bosnian director, screenwriter, and producer. This is his second time showing at Ajyal, and he was also a Qumra Master in 2015. ‘No Man’s Land’, which he directed and wrote, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards. He is also a two-time winner of the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for the films ‘An Episode in the Life of an Ironpicker’ (2013) and ‘Death in Sarajevo’ (2016). At the 20th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2014, he received the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award.

Credits

Screenwriter
Danis Tanović, Nikola Kupresanin
Producer
Mirsad Purivatra, Amra Bakšić Čamo, Jovan Marjanović
Cinematographer
Damir Sagolj
Editor
Redžinald Šimek
Music
Brano Jakubović
Cast
Branko Đurić, Izudin Bajrović, Helena Vuković, Kerim Čutuna, Almir Palata Prle, Anja Matković