The world premiere of Dino Mustafić’s Bosnian unusual dark comedy The Pavilion, set in a retirement home, will open the 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival on Friday evening
The movie focuses on “a group of residents in a retirement home who, after years of abuse and humiliation, decide to stage an armed revolt,” explains a synopsis. “Armed with illegal weapons, they take over the home, hold the staff hostage, and clash with the authorities.”
The screenplay for The Pavilion was written by Viktor Ivančić, with Emir Imamović Pirke as co-writer. Directors of photography are Almir Đikoli and Mustafa Mustafić, editor is Vladimir Gojun, and the music is by Bojan Zulfikarpašić, with costume design by Zhaklina Krstevska and set design by Mirna Ler.
The cast includes Rade Šerbedžija, known to a global audience from the likes of 24, Snatch, Mission: Impossible 2, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Taken 2, Zijah Sokolović, Miralem Zubčević, Ksenija Pajić, Jasna Diklić, Branka Petrić, Meto Jovanovski, Vladimir Jurc Lali, Kaća Dorić, Muhamed Bahonjić, Ivo Barišić, Ermin Bravo, Alban Ukaj, Nikša Butijer, Vedrana Božinović, and Mirjana Karanović.
The film was produced by Panglas (Bosnia and Herzegovina), in co-production with Cineplanet (Croatia), Krug Film (North Macedonia), Monte Royal Pictures (Serbia), Natenane Productions (Montenegro), and Realstage (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
“This is a film about the oldest generation who have chosen to act according to their conscience in today’s world,” said Mustafić. “They rise up in rebellion. And rebellions, by nature, come in all forms. This one is different.”
The 31st edition of the Sarajevo festival runs Aug. 15-22.
‘The Pavilion’
Courtesy of Sarajevo Film Festival
Ahead of the world premiere of The Pavilion, THR asked the director about his return to film work, the creative team behind the movie, and his excitement about debuting it in Sarajevo.
Why did you want to direct The Pavilion and how did the writers Viktor and Emir pitch the script to you? I think you all knew each other before?
Because it came to me at the right time and from the right addresses. I know Viktor and Emir extremely well — I worked on their texts in theater, so I know their writing style, and they know mine. We are friends; many things connect us together, from a sense of humor to our worldview.
The screenplay was born from Viktor’s novella. When they sent me the script, I didn’t read it with a “cool head” but with the feeling: “Here, they’ve prepared something that will touch me and anger me at the same time.” And [that was] right. The characters are alive, the story captures you, and the themes are bitter yet necessary.
Is the story of the film based on a real case?
It’s not one specific case, but it could be — and unfortunately, that is what hurts the most. In this story, there are so many familiar patterns from our society: corruption, negligence, greed… Even while we were filming, there were similar episodes in nursing homes in Serbia and Croatia. These are everyday news stories, only we compress them into an hour and a half in the film, making them feel even more intense.
Do you feel the themes of the movie are not just specific to your country?
These are indeed universal themes. Here we recognize them by our names and streets, but the same things happen in London, Buenos Aires, or Istanbul. Profit before dignity, abuse of power, manipulating the weak — this is a global catalog of problems. Pavilion does not showcase “our special misfortune” but rather what we share with the rest of the planet.
Dino Mustafić
Where did you find the actors? I recognized Rade from some of his Hollywood work
Everyone knows Rade Šerbedžija as a great film star from this region, and that was a sure ticket — he brings experience but also his eternal curiosity to explore new film characters. The rest of the cast is very experienced, with many films and roles. I’ve worked with some of them in theater, and I know others from my first feature film. These are actors who inspire me, and I believe they elevate the quality of the film.
On set, experience and freshness complement each other and sometimes challenge each other. And that’s good because the film grows from that mix of older and younger actors.
Why did you decide to return to film directing more than 20 years after your movie Remake, and did you think about directing in those years between the films or did you have your focus on your other activities?
I haven’t escaped from film; rather, circumstances led me to develop my career more in theater, which pulled me toward the stage. But film has always been somewhere under the surface. The screenplay of Pavilion just reminded me of how much that type of storytelling is in my blood. It wasn’t a decision of “it’s time,” but rather an inner feeling: “If I don’t film this, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
Do you know what you will do next?
I am soon starting work on a new film that touches upon our past in the city of Prijedor. The film is titled Trake (Armbands) and opens up a wartime story based on the factual tragedy of that city, when people, because of their ethnic background (Bosniaks and Croats), were ordered by the local military authorities to mark themselves with white armbands. The film follows the story of a young interethnic couple whose love, in the whirlwind of a bloody history, remains pure, unchanged, and exalted. This upcoming film is therefore entirely different in genre and theme from Pavilion.
How special is it for you to open the 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival with your movie?
It’s an honor that warms your heart and tightens your stomach a little. Sarajevo is my city, and the SFF has long become a world address. Opening the festival means telling a story first to those who know you best, but also in front of guests from all over the world. It’s a moment when your home ground and global premiere merge into the same feeling — and believe me, that doesn’t happen often.