Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Fellow's Film Festival Connects Maryland and Bosnia

Bosnian film marketer Darija Buzakovic (2005-06) invites Marylanders to join the fun

**Jack and Darija at Kratkofil**

Drawing on Humphrey connections and her own background, Fellowship alumna Darija Buzakovic staged a film festival in her native Bosnia in June 2007 that looks to become a mainstay of her country’s young film industry.

“We want to bring a sense of new standards in filmmaking to emerging filmmakers in Bosnia, and bring some of the most respected professionals to share their experience,” wrote Buzakovic, the festival’s executive director, in an e-mail interview.

Buzakovic’s NGO presented Kratkofil – her country’s only international festival of short films – from June 7 to June 10 in the city of Banja Luka. To increase the profile of Bosnia’s film industry, the festival drew together up-and-coming talent from the region with established professionals from all over the world.

**A full house enjoys a screening**

With about 50 filmmakers from every continent in attendance, the festival received wide media coverage, major sponsors and the attention of local officials.

“It was a great experience,” said Jack Gerbes, a Maryland film industry official who participated in the festival at Buzakovic’s invitation. “They were so hungry for film.”

In packed theaters, organizers screened more than 130 films over four days, about half of which were in competition.

With every seat filled for most shows, people sat in the aisles.

The organizers’ goal was to make Kratkofil “the most enjoyable film event in Bosnia,” Buzakovic said. So filmmakers went to club parties most nights and spent one day braving the rapids of a local river on a whitewater rafting trip, which will become a festival tradition.

Buzakovic asked Gerbes, director of the Maryland Film Office, to serve as one of five judges. The Maryland Film Office, a government entity, promotes the state as a filming location to Hollywood and the international film industry.

Gerbes also spoke on a panel with another American, a Serb and two Britons about ways young filmmakers could sell their ideas to financial backers.

**A tradition in the making**

Buzakovic first met Gerbes when she worked as an intern on his staff during her Fellowship year. She traveled with staff members to a trade show in Los Angeles, where her boss said her charm and eagerness to engage industry professionals “made a hit.”

Buzakovic channeled this and other experiences as a Humphrey Fellow into the festival. “I learned so many things in the States that I used for Kratkofil,” she said. “I had a chance to visit some of the most important film festivals, including Sundance and Tribeca. I got a chance to see how big festivals are organized.”

For next year, Buzakovic wants to expand the festival with more speakers, more films and a workshop so that Bosnians can learn the process of film-making "from script to screen," she says. Gerbes suggests they form a partnership with a U.S. film festival.

Another Maryland resource has been Lori Sousa, a friend and colleague from the American Film Institute in Silver Spring, Md., where Buzakovic also interned.

“Darija has got such tenacity and focus,” said Sousa, whose background is in festival marketing. “She’s amazing, just to hear how things were going in her country and what her goals were and how she was going to accomplish them.”

At Buzakovic’s invitation, Sousa also made the trip to Banja Luka for the festival. She said the quality of the films, as well as Kratkofil’s organization and high profile, impressed her. “It seemed as though it was a festival that had been up and running for five years.”

Gerbes agreed. “They have their act together, and that speaks a lot to Darija,” he said.

by Andy Zieminski