European John Templeton Film Award 2006

The film was chosen by a jury appointed by INTERFILM, the International Interchurch Film Organisation, from a shortlist of six films which had all been recognised by ecumenical juries during the year. The European John Templeton Film Prize is given in the name of the prestigious John Templeton Foundation by INTERFILM, and the Geneva-based Conference of European Churches (CEC). The prize carries an award of  € 10’000 and a certificate of recognition.

 

The film is set in Grbavica, a suburb of Sarajevo, where 12-year-old Sara lives in a loving relationship with her mother Esma. The child is preparing to go on a school trip for which Esma is working hard at various tasks to raise the money. Problems arise when Sara’s belief that her father died in the Bosnian war is undermined by the fact that the trip is free for “war heroes”. So why cannot her mother find the certificate which would allow her to travel free? Subtle hints climax in a moving scene where the truth is finally revealed.

 

The film captures the real dilemmas of the aftermath of a tragic ethnic conflict; the economic problems facing single parents; the continuing social divisions in a society struggling to come to terms with the past; but overall is the enduring love of a parent for her child and the child for her parent. Without presenting images of past atrocities, Jasmila Žbanic’s aesthetic strategy succeeds in evoking a traumatising experience through gestures, physical expressions and moments of silence.

 

The European John Templeton Film Prize is awarded to films which have high artistic merit; lend expression to a human viewpoint in keeping with the message of the Scriptures, or which stimulate debate; make audiences sensitive to spiritual and social values and questions. Grbavica  won the Golden Bear and the Ecumenical Jury prize at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival.