1395 DAYS WITHOUT RED, 2011
HD video, color, 5.1 sound
63 min.
In collaboration with Anri Sala and Ari Benjamin Meyers
Starring Maribel Verdú and Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra
Synopsis
A woman makes her way through an empty city. At every crossing she stops, looks and listens. Should she wait or should she run? Should she wait for others or take the risk on her own?
The city is Sarajevo, and the route the woman takes became known as Sniper Alley during the siege of the city endured by its citizens for 1395 days between 1992 and 1996. The woman, played by Spanish actress Maribel Verdú, is reliving the experience of the trauma of the siege. It is her individual journey in the collective memory of the city.
1395 Days without Red draws on the experience of the siege of Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996 and the trauma of the besieged citizens as they made their way through the city. The title refers to the fact that, during the siege, the Sarajevans were advised not to wear bright colours that might alert the snipers in the hills above to their movements.
Throughout the siege, the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra continued to play. In the film 1395 Days Without Red the orchestra rehearses Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony, the Pathetique. The musicians stop and start, repeating different sections of the symphony, just as the woman stops and starts in the city. Hearing the music in her head, she finds the courage to carry on.
An Artangel and scca/pro.ba production 1395 DAYS WITHOUT RED
By Šejla Kamerić and Anri Sala in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers
1395 DAYS WITHOUT RED was conceived, developed and filmed as a Collaborative film project by Šejla Kamerić and Anri Sala.
The project has given life to two different films
This is the film by Šejla Kamerić
Directed by: Šejla Kamerić
Starring: Maribel Verdu & Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra
Director of Photography: Patrick Ghiringhelli
Editor: Penda Houzangbe
Sound Designer: Srđan Kurpjel, Burak Topalakci
Producer: James Lingwood
Coproducers: Amra Bakšić Čamo, Jovan Marjanović
Commisioned by ARTANGEL
Coproduced by SCCA / Pro.ba