Synopsis

Nikola Stojanović’s tragicomedy, also known as Belle Epoque, was the last film to be shot in what was then Yugoslavia in 1990. The film tells a story set in Sarajevo in the years between 1910 and 1914, a time shaped by many dramatic events in the Balkans leading up to the murder of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. The assassination, committed by Gavrilo Princip in June of 1914, continued a chain of events that triggered the outbreak of the First World War. The Balkans conflict prevented Stojanović from completing his film in the 90s, and the uncut material was instead stored in Bosnian director and film historian Bakir Tanović’s home in Sarajevo. Tanović’s presence of mind made him hold on to the material until 2007 when it was finally put together and edited. Last Waltz in Sarajevo eventually saw its late premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London. The story developed from the historically warranted character of Anton Valić, a young man with a good family background, preparing for his engagement and fascinated by the first film cameras appearing in Sarajevo at the time. A friend asks him to join the political battle for Bosnia’s liberation from the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy.