FAST FORWARD 2023 / Projections:
14.12.2023 / 18:00 / CIC “Budo Tomović” – Dodest / Podgorica
Jean-Gabriel Périot / France, Switzerland, Bosnia & Herzegovina / 2023 / 110’
Director: Jean-Gabriel Périot
Screenplay: Jean-Gabriel Périot
Editor: Jean-Gabriel Périot
Music: Henri Maïkoff, Xavier Thibault, Laure Arto
Cinematography: Denis Gravouil, Amine Berrada
Production: Alter Ego Production, Pravo Ljudski, Alina Films
Producers: Cécile Lestrade, Kumjana Novakova
SYNOPSIS
Following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence, in April 1992, Bosnian Serb troops besieged and bombed Sarajevo. Over a period of four years, five young filmmakers documented the bombardments and daily life during the siege—for some, the aim was simply to report the news; for others, it was a way of dealing with their fears. The first part of this film comprises archive footage of shootings and atrocities, and of shattered apartment blocks, as well as of soldiers playing soccer. The second part takes place 30 years later, with the men who shot the material re-watching it on an iPad. While usually working with existing images, Jean-Gabriel Périot supplements the archive material with his own footage here. In interviews at the scenes of past action, the five filmmakers look back on the war, discuss the importance of the camera as a weapon, and are sometimes barely able to contain their emotions. For them, the scenes of war they shot are both an important historical document and a form of coping therapy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jean-Gabriel Périot was born in 1974 in Bellac, France. He is a director and editor, known for: Une jeunesse allemande (A German Youth) (2015), Returning to Reims (Fragments) (2021) and Even if She Had Been a Criminal… (Eût-elle été criminelle…) (2006). Jean-Gabriel Périot has directed several short films at the border of documentary, animation and experimental. He has developed his own editing style that questions violence and history from film and photographic archives. His films have been awarded in numerous festivals around the world.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
- Sarajevo Film Festival 2023 (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Sao Paulo International Film Festival 2023 Mostra (Brasil)
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2023 (Czech Republic)
- Amsterdam International Film Festival 2023 (Netherlands)