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Ena Sendijarević

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Ena Sendijarević
Born1987
Odžak, Bosnia and Herzegovina
EducationGraduate in screenwriting and directing
Alma materNetherlands Film Academy
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active2013–present
Notable work
AwardsGolden Calf for Best Director

Ena Sendijarević (born 1987) is a Bosnian-Dutch[1] filmmaker and screenwriter known for her distinctive blend[2] of surrealism[3], satire, and sharp social commentary and exploration of themes such as power, identity, sexuality[4] and migration[5]. Her notable works include Import (2016), which premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight[6]; Take Me Somewhere Nice (2019), winner of the Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Feature Film[7]; and Sweet Dreams (2023), a satirical exploration of Dutch colonialism that premiered to critical acclaim[8].

Early life and education

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Sendijarević was born in 1987 in Odžak, Bosnia and Herzegovina.[9][10] Later she moved with her family to Modriča, where she remained until the beginning of the Bosnian War.[9] After moving 20 times, including to Berlin, she moved to Amsterdam in 2002.[9] She studied media and culture at the University of Amsterdam and the Freie Universität Berlin. In 2014, she graduated with a degree in screenwriting and directing from the Netherlands Film Academy.[10][11]

Career

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In 2013, Sendijarević wrote and directed her first short film, Reizigers in de Nacht (Travellers in the Night). The film was selected for the VERS Award and won the VEVAM Go Short Award for Best Dutch Short at the Go Short International Short Film Festival 2014. She directed the short film Fernweh (2014), which premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.[12]

Sendijarević's 2016 short film, Import, premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight.[13] The film tells the story of a Bosnian refugee family in the Netherlands and its experience of integrating.[13] In September 2016, it was selected at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival in Short Cuts section.[14]

Sendijarević's debut feature film, Take Me Somewhere Nice (2019), premiered in the Tiger Competition of the 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won a Special Jury Award for an extraordinary artistic achievement (a prize worth €10,000).[15][13] The film is a coming-of-age story about a teenaged girl who travels to Bosnia to visit her ailing father in hospital.[13][16] It won the prize for Best Feature Film at the Sarajevo Film Festival (the Heart of Sarajevo award)[16][17] and at the Seoul International Women's Film Festival.[10] It was reviewed in Variety as "a stylishly quirky debut feature".[18]

In 2023, her film Sweet Dreams was selected as opening film of Netherlands Film Festival[19] where it won six Golden Calf Awards.[20] Individually she won Golden Calf for Best Director and was nominated for Golden Calf for Best Script.[21] The film was also selected as Dutch entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards.[22]

On December 20, 2024, it was announced that Sendijarevic's English-language debut The Possessed has been greenlit for a 2026 shoot. The film is described as a "dark, surrealist exploration of a love triangle between two women fleeing the European witch hunts and the man who becomes their captive." [23]

Filmography

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Year Title Director/ Writer Notes Ref.
2013 Traveler in the Night Director and writer [24]
2014 Fernweh
2016 Import Premiered at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight [13]
Eng TV Mini-series, 1 episode - "Space Girls"
2019 Take Me Somewhere Nice Director and writer Selected for Cannes ACID sidebar[25]
2023 Sweet Dreams Director and writer NFF opening film [26]

Accolades

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Award ceremony Year Category Nominee /Work Result Ref.
Sarajevo Film Festival 2019 Heart of Sarajevo Take Me Somewhere Nice Won [27]
International Film Festival Rotterdam Special Jury Award Won [28]
Seoul International Women's Film Festival Best Picture Won [29]
Netherlands Film Festival 2023 Golden Calf for Best Director Sweet Dreams Won [20]
Golden Calf for Best Script Nominated [21]

References

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  1. ^ "Ena Sendijarevic | Writer, Director, Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  2. ^ Keogan, Natalia (12 April 2024). ""I Love the Kind of Cinema That [Tells You Everything] Through Images, Where Every Frame is Like a Painting": Ena Sendijarević' on Her Metrograph Series, Sweet Dreams". FilmmakerMagazine.com. Retrieved 23-12-2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ^ Repass, William (2024-04-07). "'Sweet Dreams' Review: A Surreal Portrait of Waning Colonial Days". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  4. ^ "Ena Sendijarević Introduces Her Film "Take Me Somewhere Nice"". MUBI. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  5. ^ Latifovic, Sabina (2024-10-25). "Ena Sendijarević's cinema of migration and memory". Document Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  6. ^ "Dutch short film IMPORT selected for Cannes". Netherlands Film Academy. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  7. ^ Vourlias, Christopher (2019-08-23). "Ena Sendijarevic's 'Take Me Somewhere Nice' Wins Top Prize in Sarajevo". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  8. ^ "Sweet Dreams (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  9. ^ a b c Kajić, Lejla (2019-02-16). "Ena Sendijarević: Bh. sceni treba više filmova nove generacije". Klix.ba.
  10. ^ a b c Salihbegović, Aida Sofić (2019-10-22). "Ena Sendijarević: "Trenutni sistem je nefunkcionalan" | DW | 22.10.2019". Deutsche Welle (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  11. ^ Vegara, Sead (2019-09-04). "Sendijarević: Film uvijek mora biti ličan". Al Jazeera Balkans (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  12. ^ "An Interview With A Smalls Film Festival Winner: Ena Sendijarević". The Smalls. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2020-05-16.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ a b c d e Vourlias, Christopher (2019-08-22). "Ena Sendijarevic on Migration, Identity and the Question of Belonging". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  14. ^ Wilner, Norman (9 September 2016). "TIFF shorts 2016: what to check out at this year's fest". Now Toronto. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Present.Perfect. wins main prize at IFFR 2019". IFFR. February 1, 2019.
  16. ^ a b Scott, Sheena. "'Take Me Somewhere Nice' Wins Best Film At Sarajevo Film Festival". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  17. ^ "Bosnisch-Nederlandse film bekroond op Sarajevo Film Festival". Telegraaf (in Dutch). 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  18. ^ Weissberg, Jay (2019-02-07). "Film Review: 'Take Me Somewhere Nice'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  19. ^ "Sweet Dreams is de openingsfilm van het Nederlands Film Festival 2023" [Sweet Dreams is the opening film of the Dutch Film Festival 2023]. Eye Filmmuseum (in Dutch). 15 May 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Winnaars Gouden Kalveren 2023" [43rd edition of the Dutch Film Festival: Winners of the Golden Calves 2023]. Dutch Film Festival (in Dutch). 29 September 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Nominaties Gouden Kalveren 2023 bekend" [43rd edition of the Dutch Film Festival: Nominations for Golden Calves 2023 announced]. Dutch Film Festival (in Dutch). 24 September 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  22. ^ Georg Szalai (September 8, 2023). "Oscars 2024: The Netherlands Selects 'Sweet Dreams' for International Feature Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  23. ^ Leo Barraclough (December 20, 2024). "Ena Sendijarevic's 'The Possessed,' a Dark, Surrealist Exploration of a Love Triangle Set During the European Witch Hunts, Greenlit". Variety.
  24. ^ Bovekerk, Henk (22 May 2019). "Ena Sendijarević maakte een bitterzoete roadmovie in het hart van Europa" [Ena Sendijarević made a bittersweet road movie in the heart of Europe]. Vice (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  25. ^ Orlando Parfitt (23 April 2019). "Cannes ACID 2019 line-up revealed". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  26. ^ Linssen, Dana (2023-08-04). "Ena Sendijarevic over Sweet Dreams". Filmkrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  27. ^ Scott, Sheena. "'Take Me Somewhere Nice' Wins Best Film At Sarajevo Film Festival". Forbes. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Tiger Competition Winners| IFFR". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  29. ^ "21st Film Festival (2019): International Feature Competition Winners". Seoul International Women's Film Festival. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
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