Heroji

Heroji is situated in Sarajevo in 1995, but the film concentrates less on shelling and snipers than on human relationships: how they are under pressure, become stronger or weaker through fear, uncertainty and violence. Senka and Zan are actors who try to make theatre in Sarajevo. Zan is married to Senka's sister and after their district is invaded by the Serbs, they move into an apartment in the city centre. At night, Senka waits for her lover, Camac, who has gone to the front. It is very difficult for her to maintain her everyday routine in the theatre and in the evenings she doesn't join in the drinking and jesting. When Camac eventually returns, he is an officer and has to get straight back to the front. In the meantime, the theatre demands the utmost from everyone's inventiveness.The war is largely present in the background of Heroji: François Lunel mainly wanted to show the oppressive threat that people have to live with. Even without becoming a direct victim of violence, no one can escape it. Lunel uses tranquil scenes to visualise the fragile balance between everyday life and the unusual circumstances. The film was shot on location in 1996, in the middle of the war. With local actors and the support of Bosnian television, Kodak and Agnès B., Lunel succeeded in providing an authentic picture of life in a beleaguered city.