When Bojan Bodru啪i膰 was evacuated from Sarajevo in 1992, he thought he鈥檇 only be gone for a couple of weeks.
鈥淚t was one of those things where we thought, 鈥楾his is just a skirmish, there鈥檚 no chance a war in Bosnia will happen, it鈥檚 impossible,鈥欌�� says Bodru啪i膰. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 pan out that way.鈥�
Bodru啪i膰 did not know that the violence would explode into the Bosnian War and a four-year battle now known as the Siege of Sarajevo, the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
In 1992, that kind of prolonged violence was unimaginable to Bodru啪i膰, then a teenager. 鈥淪arajevo was a buzzing place, and very culturally rich,鈥� recalls Bodru啪i膰. 鈥淓verybody was so incredibly intermixed, so for there to be a long conflict seemed entirely implausible.鈥�
Bodru啪i膰 and his sister were separated from their parents for nearly two years. Once reunited, the parents and siblings made their way to 麻豆传媒映画as refugees, and they built new lives for themselves in that lonely space between safety and heartache.
鈥淐oming to Canada on the one hand was wonderful,鈥� says Bodru啪i膰. 鈥淵ou have this great sense of freedom. Finally you鈥檙e free of these political pressures and national labels, all these things that brought about the war. So it was a very liberating experience, but there鈥檚 still this absence in your life, this feeling of loss, because you didn鈥檛 choose to come. We chose to come to Canada, but we didn鈥檛 choose to leave our country.鈥�
Bodru啪i膰 never forgot where he came from. He couldn鈥檛. He鈥檇 left too many people behind 鈥� including his grandparents. He鈥檇 glimpse images of Sarajevo in films such as Welcome to Sarajevo, 鈥淎nd it would tear me up,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like something from deep inside would suddenly well up. You carry that absence with you.鈥�
When Bodru啪i膰 finally returned to Sarajevo in 2000 and reunited with his grandparents, he did so with a camcorder in hand.
Thus began a 15-year journey in documentary filmmaking that culminates in The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs. Bodru啪i膰鈥檚 feature-length film won the award for Best Canadian Documentary at the 2018 麻豆传媒映画International Film Festival, and it screens at Vancity Theatre April 21 and 23.
Bodru啪ic returned to Sarajevo on several occasions between 2000 and 2012, and each time, he filmed his grandparents at home in their small flat. In some scenes, they share stories from their lives, seated together on the couch; in others, they playfully bicker over dinner. They reminisce about the wars and each other. They ruminate on the future of their family and their country.
The Museum of Forgotten Triumphsis edited together from footage collected during those trips. It鈥檚 a poignant but unsentimental tale of war, recovery, aging, love and loss through the story of Bodru啪i膰鈥檚 grandparents 鈥� and yet it鈥檚 not the film that Bodru啪ic originally set out to make.
Originally, Bodru啪i膰鈥檚 film was going to be about, well, Bodru啪i膰. 鈥淚 was editing for a while before I realized that what was most interesting about the project were my grandparents, and I felt that I could even tell my story, somewhat obliquely, through their story,鈥� says the 麻豆传媒映画filmmaker.
Although The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs includes 12 years of footage, the bulk was shot in 2011, when Bodru啪i膰 returned to Sarajevo at his grandfather鈥檚 insistence.
鈥淗e wanted to commit his life stories to camera,鈥� says Bodru啪i膰. 鈥淗e kept telling me, 鈥楲ook, you have to come.鈥� It was almost like he sensed that something might happen, that they might be sick. There was a sense of urgency.鈥�
Less than a year later, Bodru啪i膰鈥檚 grandmother died. He returned for the funeral, and he and his grandfather ended up filming again.
鈥淗e wanted to bring this to a conclusion,鈥� says Bodru啪i膰.
His grandfather passed away two weeks later.
鈥淭here was this sudden ending to the whole thing, which was simultaneously shocking and fitting,鈥� says Bodru啪i膰. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how the two of them would have been able to live without each other. They were so completely intertwined in their lives, the way they existed, in every little daily routine, from the way they woke up to who made breakfast and who made coffee and who did the dishes.鈥�
Bodru啪i膰 has been travelling with The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs as it screens at festivals.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of people talk to me about their deeply emotional response to the film and how unexpected it feels, and how they didn鈥檛 expect to see something like this on film because it seems so familiar,鈥� says Bodru啪i膰.
The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs screens April 21 and 23 at Vancity Theatre. Tickets at VIFF.org.
