A moving drama about the lasting impact of the systematic rape of Bosnian women by Serb soldiers during the Balkans conflict was the surprise winner of the Berlin film festival's top prize yesterday.
The low-budget Grbavica, by Sarajevo director Jasmila Zbanic, took the Golden Bear for best film at the conclusion of the 56th Berlin festival, in keeping with the annual event's reputation for showcasing hard-hitting, arthouse cinema.
"War in Bosnia was over some 13 years ago and yet war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic still live in Europe freely," said Zbanic, whose film spotlights the hushed-up issue of the rape of 20,000 women during the 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo.
"They've not been captured for organising the rape of 20,000 women in Bosnia (and) killing 100,000. This is Europe and no one is interested in capturing them. I hope that this will change your viewing on Bosnia," she added to warm applause.
Grbavica, the name of a suburb of Sarajevo but also a term for "woman with a hump" that refers to rape victims, is the story of a Muslim woman who tries to conceal the grisly truth of her past to protect her teenage daughter.
One of 19 competition films, Grbavicawon heartfelt cheers at a screening before Berlin's notoriously fickle press corps. It was Zbanic's first feature-length film.