Film Archive

Jahr

Land (Film Archive)

Filmstill Disturbed Earth

Disturbed Earth

Disturbed Earth
Kumjana Novakova, Guillermo Carreras-Candi
Doc Alliance Award 2023
Documentary Film
Spain,
Bosnia & Herzegovina,
North Macedonia
2021
71 minutes
Bosnian,
English
Subtitles: 
English

Trucks crawl along the road, decorated with garlands of flowers, loaded with the mortal remains of people who were murdered at the Srebrenica massacre. The bereaved receive the coffins to bury the only recently exhumed and identified dead in the sprawling cemetery of the city which also doubles as a memorial. This is the overwhelming opening of a film that goes on to concentrate on three of the few survivors of this mass murder which claimed the lives of thousands, mainly men and boys, within a few days in that small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1995.

Srećko returned and now lives in the woods on a hill above the town. Mirza escaped by wandering through the mountains for days and now resides again with his wife in their old house. Mejra has lost her husband and sons and, aged 85 now, still supports herself only from her field. Their quietly observed everyday activities alternate with poignant archive material which shows the inconceivable events in minute detail. Shaky and blurry videos contrast with clear images of fieldwork and an enchantingly innocent nature. The past still weighs heavily, but the tenacity of the human spirit in bearing up under the most horrific circumstances emerges.

Lina Dinkla

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Kumjana Novakova, Guillermo Carreras-Candi
Cinematographer
Kumjana Novakova, Guillermo Carreras-Candi
Editor
Jelena Maksimović
Producer
Guillermo Carreras-Candi, Kumjana Novakova
Sound Design
Oriol Gallart