UNESCO THEATRE [Main Title]

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  • Title: UNESCO THEATRE [Main Title]
  • Film Number: UNT 405
  • Other titles: UNITED NATIONS TELEVISION (UNTV) ZAGREB COLLECTION, YUGOSLAVIA [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: United Nations television programme shot in Sarajevo, describing a theatre project with Dutch and Bosnian drama students in Sarajevo.
  • Description: Shot of director Jan Retzima giving instructions to actors. Two young women stand on stage and read lines from the script in front of the rest of the class. Director Jan Retzima and seven Dutch actors have come from Holland to work with their Bosnian counterparts. This UNESCO-sponsored project aims to encourage these actors to work with one another despite the state of war in Bosnia. Clips from the drama classes. Interview with Willemyn Hiltermann, one of the student actors from Holland. She says that she was impressed that these Bosnian actors continued to train and perform during the war and that it is an excellent experience for her to meet people who have had to make theatre as a means of survival. Footage from the drama class. The visit of the Dutch students has been cut down from two weeks to seven days because of the closure of Sarajevo airport. Willemyn Hiltermann says that because of the war ‘we are here with our fear and we are working with that, we want to be serious about this, we are really afraid but the people from Sarajevo are only laughing’. Interview with Faruk Lončarević, a student director from Sarajevo. He says that they found the fear of the Dutch students was ‘sort of silly’ because they have known worse fears. He says that the Dutch students are always ready to try new things. Shots of the students at a local café on the eve of the performance. They have only had four days to rehearse the show. Willemyn Hiltermann says that she is looking forward to performing on an open air stage for the first time. The following day, the audience are arriving at the venue. Haris Pašović, the Director of the Sarajevo Summer Festival, explains the improvised nature of the project to the audience. Clip from the beginning of the show. The actors pretend to be UNPROFOR soldiers stumbling over their words as they try to greet local people. In an interview, Haris Pašović, the Director of the Sarajevo Summer Festival, says that this year’s festival has been encouraging because it gives a ‘more stable structure’ to the cultural life of Sarajevo. Shots of the audience applauding and the actors taking a bow. Willemyn Hiltermann says that she no longer feels the fear as she did in the beginning. She says that she feels good now.
  • Alternative Title: UNITED NATIONS TELEVISION (UNTV) ZAGREB COLLECTION, YUGOSLAVIA [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: English (Tape Code A)
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: UNT 405
  • Sound: Croatian (Tape Code C)
  • Access Conditions:
  • Featured Period: 1990-2000
  • Production Date: 1994-08
  • Production Country: UN
  • Production Details: Foster, Leigh (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Pašović, Haris (person) Lončarević, Faruk (person)
  • Keywords: Bosnia-Herzegovina & Sarajevo (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: English (Tape Code A) Sound format: Croatian (Tape Code C) Soundtrack language: Serbian (Tape D)
  • Technical Details: Format: Beta-SP Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 4 minutes 40 seconds
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    UNT 405

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    UNT 405 X (UNESCO THEATRE (UNEDITED RUSHES) [Allocated Title])
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