Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams
CROSSINGS: 11th Annual International Women's Film Festival presents Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams on February 1, 2007. One obvious truth about foreign films is not just the insight into other cultures daily lives, but the struggles so far from our privileged lives here even in wartime America that we can't even conceive of the potential impact on individuals. This film promises to be an incredible story of a paperwork issue turned into an emotional and historical nightmare.
Esma, a single mother, is struggling to raise her 12-year-old daughter in post-war Bosnia. While working hard yet remaining below poverty lines, she struggles to send daughter Sara on a special school trip. If she is able to obtain a certificate proving he died a shaheed, a holy war martyr, she can receive a discount for the trip. Esma claims acquiring the certificate is difficult since his body has yet to be found, meanwhile searching desperately for the money to pay for Sara’s trip. Sara becomes upset when she finds out her mother's duplicity, but the truth is something much harder to hear, yet the one thing that will bring them closer together in the end.
Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main Street, Buffalo, 7 PM. Full Festival passes are available at the Market Arcade box office for $43 general, $30 students, seniors and Hallwalls members (a 25% discount). Individual tickets also available.