On the Path

by Jasmila Zbanic

On the Path

Synopsis

Loving young couple Luna and Amar try their best to overcome unexpected obstacles that threaten their relationship. When Amar is suspended for drinking on the job, Luna worries that this will interfere with her already fragile dreams of having a baby. Luna's fears grow when Amar accepts a well-paid job hours away in a fundamentalist Muslim community. After having been cut off from contact with Amar, Luna is finally allowed to visit him at the secluded Wahhabi commune situated on an idyllic lake. She discovers a mysterious environment of veiled women and ritual -- a world where the daily lives of men and women are separated and under strict surveillance. Luna begs Amar to come home, but he convinces her that the isolated sanctuary of prayer has brought him peace and helped him stop drinking. When Amar returns home several weeks later, Luna notices a dramatic change in his attitude toward religion. Amar insists that he is just trying to become a better man, but Luna finds it increasingly more difficult to understand his new beliefs. She begins to question everything that she has believed in, even her desire to have a child. As the wounds of a tragic war-filled past continue to haunt her, Luna tears herself apart searching if love is truly enough to keep her and Amar together on the path to a lifetime of happiness.

Director

Born in Sarajevo in 1974, Zbanic began making films in 1997 when she founded the artist's association "Deblokada", through which she produced, wrote and directed numerous documentaries, video art works and shorts. Her work has been screened in film festivals and exhibitions worldwide such as the Manifesta 3 in Slovenia in 2000, Istanbull Bienale in 2003, Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel in 2004.
Highlights include GRBAVICA (2005) Golden Bear at Berlinale 2006, Grand Jury Prize, International Feature Competition AFI Fest 2006, Los Angeles, USA, nomination BEST EUROPEAN FILM AND BEST EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2006.
Zbanic is a graduate of her native city's Academy of Dramatic Arts, department for theater and film directing. She also worked as a puppeteer in the Vermont-based "Bread and Puppet" Theater and as a clown in a Lee De Long workshop.

Filmography

2009 »On the Path« (Na putu), feature film
2008 »Participation« (Stories of the Human Rights), short (3min)
2007 »Builder's Diary«, documentary (40 min)
2005 »Grbavica«, feature film (90 min)
2004 »Lost and Found: Birthday«, episode
2003 »Images from the corner«, short (32 min)
2002 »To&Fro«, short (10 min)
2000 »Red Rubber Boots«, short (18 min)
1998 » We light the night«, short (14 min)
1998 »Love is...«, short (7 min)
1997 »After, After«, short (16 min)

Cast

Zrinka Cvitesic
Leon Lucev
Ermin Bravo
Mirjana Karanovic
Nina Violic
Sebastijan Cavazza

Crew

Directed by: Jasmila Zbanic
Produced by: Deblokada (BIH), Coop99 (A), Pola Pandora (D), Ziva (CR)
Producers:
Damir Ibrahimovic, Bruno Wagner, Barbara Albert, Karl Baumgartner, Leon Lucev
Written by: Jasmila Zbanic
Cinematographer: Christine A. Maier

Technical Data

Format: 35 mm / 25fps / 1:2,35 / Dolby Surround
Length: 100 min
Original language: Bosnian

Original title: Na putu

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On the Path
On the Path

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