Bosnia-Herzegovina is a country on the Balkan peninsula of Southern Europe with an area of 51,280 square kilometres. In 2007 the population was estimated at over 4 million people.
Unspoiled natural locations including a wide range of natural sites from mountains to seaside, presence of all four seasons in all their beauty. War ruins still existing and together with abandoned military locations (including bunkers and airports) can be used as studios for war and post-war films
Starting with WELCOME TO SARAJEVO by Michael Winterbottom, which was filmed
in Sarajevo right after the war 1992-1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina again became
an interesting location for shooting films. Besides local projects, every year many
regional co-productions are being shot here and foreign companies have
recognized possibilities and advantages of country’s geographic, social and cultural
diversity. It is expected that number of foreign films shot in Bosnia and Herzegovina
will reach a record in 2011.
Some of the foreign films shot in Bosnia and Herzegovina are:
• WELCOME TO SARAJEVO (1997) by Michael Winterbottom, UK/ USA
• TERRITORIO COMANCHE (1997) by Gerardo Herrero, Spain/ France/ Germany/
Argentina
• IL TEMPORALE DI PADRON JUSUF (1999) by Gian Vittorio Baldi, Italy/ UK
• SOLDATI DI PACE/ PEACE SOLDIERS (2001) by Claudio Benivento, Italy
• OLTRE IL CONFINE (2001) by Rolando Colla, Switzerland
• TAM, GDZIE ZYJA ESKIMOSI/ WHERE ESKIMOS LIVE (2002) by Tomasz Wiszniewski,
Poland/ UK/ Germany/ USA
• ANNO MILLE (2005) by Diego Febrraro, Italy
• WARCHILD (2006) by Christian Wagner, Germany/ Slovenia
• IMMIGRANT (2006) by Bojan Bodruži?, Canada
• THE HUNTING PARTY (2007) by Richard Shepard, USA
• MÖRDERISCHER FRIEDEN/ SNIPER VALLEY (2007) by Rudolf Schweiger, Germany
• PUT LUBENICA/ THE MELON ROUTE (2008) by Branko Schmidt, Croatia
• TURNEJA/ THE TOUR (2008) by Goran Markovi?, Serbia/ B&H/ Croatia/ Slovenia
• KENJAC/ DONKEY (2009) by Antonio Nui?, Croatia/ B&H
• STORM (2009) by Hans-Christian Schmid, Germany/ Denmark/ Netherlands
• SVETI GEORGIJE UBIVA AŽDAHU/ SAINT GEORGES KILLS THE DRAGON (2009) by
Sr?an Dragojevi?, Serbia/ Bulgaria/ Bosnia and Herzegovina
• THE LOVE OF BOOKS: A SARAJEVO STORY (2010) by Sam Hobkinson, UK
• MOTEL NANA (2010) by Predrag Velinovi?, Serbia/ B&H
• NEPRIJATELJ/ THE ENEMY (2011) by Dejan Ze?evi?, Serbia/ B&H
• IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (2011) by Angelina Jolie, USA
No extraordinary restrictions or rules apply. Permitting in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a straight forward process.
At present there are no tax incentives for foreign commercials or films shooting in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
None studios and backlots exist at present.No labs exist locally.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a mostly landlocked country, except for 26 kilometres of Adriatic Sea coastline. The interior of the country is mountainous in the center and south, hilly in the northwest, and flat in the northeast. Bosnia is known for its mountains, national parks, rivers, lakes, forests, waterfalls, countryside, bridges, traditional villages and Orthodox monasteries. Of particular interest to filmmakers and photographers is the Mostar Old Bridge, an elegant Ottoman bridge which attracts divers from all over the world looking to take the 22 metre plunge. The Blagaj Tekke is a historic Ottoman building in a picturesque cliff and waterfall setting. Sarajevo is one of the few places on earth that you can find an Orthodox church, Catholic church, mosque and a synagogue within walking distance of each other. Despite seeing significant damage during the Balkans War, most of Sarajevo was rebuilt and repaired by 2003. Remnants of the war can still be found should you require those looks.
Only the most basic equipment is available locally. Best to bring in all equipment from abroad. For productions looking to bring in film equipment Bosnia and Herzegovina is an ATA carnet country.
Generally, summers are hot, winters particularly cold but conditions are changeable throughout the year. The north tends to be cooler & wetter than the south, winters here are dreary with low temperatures. In the mountains heavy rain can fall at any time & winters may be extreme with long periods of snow. The most pleasant time, between Apr-Sep has warm days & mild evenings
With the support of the Eurimages Fund of the Council of Europe
