‘Not so friendly neighbourhood affair’: the post-pandemic Bosnian tragicomedy set to open Sarajevo Film Festival 2021

Sarajevo, May 2021. When a visitor from Zagreb arrives in town and asks the locals for recommendations on the best kebab in town, chaos ensues. This is the premise of Not so friendly neighbourhood affair, the Bosnian tragicomedy that will inaugurate the upcoming edition of Sarajevo Film Festival.

Set in the Bosnian capital’s picturesque old town, the film is a comedic take on the difficulties that Sarajevo, heavily reliant on foreign visitors, faces after the pandemic. Sparked by the tourist’s naive culinary quest, layers of conflict, ranging from personal disputes and long-standing family feuds to dishonest competition between businesses, slowly unravel as the film paints a comedic, but also painful, portrait of a community driven apart by hardship. Directed by Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, the film was produced by Mirsad Purivatra, Amra Baksic Camo, and Jovan Marjanovic, senior organisers of Sarajevo Film Festival.

On 13 August, the film will be screened at several locations around town to mark the opening of the event, which, after a one-year pandemic hiatus, is returning with over 40 films from Southern and Eastern Europe. Established in 1995 towards the end of the four-year siege of Sarajevo, with the aim of bringing life back to the city, the festival has now become one of Europe’s most prestigious film rendez-vous.