The White Fortress / Tabija
Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2021
Directed by Igor Drljača, drama, romance, 89 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Igor Drljača
With Pavle Čemerikić, Sumeja Dardagan, Jasmin Geljo, Kerim Čutuna
Faruk is a youngster from a rundown suburb of Sarajevo. He takes care of his ailing grandmother and tries to make a living by selling scrap iron with his uncle, running deals on his scooter for his pal, Almir, and getting involved in the criminal activities of a local mobster boss. One day in a shopping mall, he meets Mona, a timid high school student from an affluent family of the Sarajevo “new elite”. Mona is dreaming of escape from the overbearing environment of her posh home life.
Charmingly filmed and cast, The White Fortress is both an elegiac drama of coming-of-age, and a fairy-tale teen romance between two people from diametrically different worlds. The film captures the splendour and melancholy of today´s Sarajevo.