Synopsis

"What's This Country Called Now?" is a true story of the Siege of Sarajevo told from the viewpoint of Aida Cerkez (Zrinka Cvitesic), who lived in Sarajevo with her infant son and mother. Aida remained there throughout the Siege, working as a reporter for the Associated Press. She spent four years with no electricity, limited access to food, water, and few of the basic services needed for survival, while enduring incessant bombing and the constant fear of sniper fire. In June of 1994, as the 80th anniversary of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand approached, Aida had the idea to find a living witness to that pivotal event in world history, and also get his perspective on living through this new conflict. She eventually found Ismet Tabakovic (Rade Serbedzija), a 90-year-old man, who was ten years old and on a school outing to see the Archduke on that fateful day in 1914. He witnessed the assassination that triggered the first World War, and continued to live in Sarajevo throughout the many years of conflict that followed. The conversation that Aida has with Ismet begins with his memories of seeing the Archduke getting shot, but takes an unexpected turn when he asks (more than two years into the Siege), "So, who's fighting now?" The conversation that follows gives Aida, and us, a new perspective on the long history of conflict in the Western Balkans. In his 90 years, Ismet experienced a great deal of that history first-hand, and was a citizen of five different countries without ever leaving the city of Sarajevo. Aida's story is told through the lens of a reporter's incisive vision, and keen eye for the heartbreaking moments of life during wartime. Ismet complements her survivor's wry view of the absurdity of war and and weaves his stories into a tapestry with a unique perspective on the long history of Sarajevo as a pivotal place in world history. In the end, Aida leaves Ismet with a deeper understanding of the war, and her role in it.