Documentary

Musicians in Sarajevo

World music

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Program notes

The music of love.

"I became very different during the war," says Nane, a 35-years-old musician who resumed making music at the beginning of the war because, he explained, it was a means to survive. "I grew up very fast. I know what war is. Many adults do not know what war means, the way it not only kills people but hurts the soul."

Sarajevo is a city with a long and incredible history. The Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian emperors have stamped the city, its music and traditions. Bosnia's traditional genre of folk music, Sevdalinka, is a very good example of the Turkish influence. In many cases, "Sevdalinka" is simply called "Sevdah," the Turkish word for "love."

On the other hand there has been a strong pop and rock movement between 1961 and 1991. Many historical bands were formed in this period, when Sarajevo was a cultural center of the ex Yugoslavia, until 1992 when the war started. The siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege in modern history and influenced a lot the artistic world of the city.

In this documentary we try to explore both the traditional and the alternative pop-rock music and its development from the old to the new generation. But mostly we try to find the answers of how the new generation of musicians survived from the siege and how it has affected their music.

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