Frightened, filthy men and women are separated by gender and pushed onto buses, taunted, harassed, assaulted, herded off to certain death. This is not Nazi Germany in 1942.1000 miles from where I was growing up, in the middle of Europe (the distance between Toronto and Winnipeg), 8,372 men were killed as I was finishing university and getting ready to move to Canada, exactly 50 years after WWII and the Holocaust. Many films have been made about the 1995 Screbrenica massacre, and it is not often that you find a truly impactful dramatization outside of Anglo-American fictionalisations (often centred around Western protagonists like war reporters or humanitarians) or documentaries. Quo Vadis, Aida? is one such drama, entirely female-helmed and set in a male world. Bosnian director and screenwriter Jasmila Žbanić (Berlinale Golden Bear winner 2006), Austrian cinematographer Christine A. Maier and Serbian lead actress Jasna Djuricic accomplish a remarkable feat. Continue reading "#TIFF20 review: Quo Vadis, Aida?" »
