Zlatko Pranjic & Nanna Frank Møller: The Sky Above Zenica

A brief content description taken from the catalogue of the Sarajevo FF, where it was shown at the 16th Human Rights Day, a beautiful initiative this is: A quarter of the Bosnian city of Zenica is a giant steel plant. It is the largest employer in the area, and spews smoke day and night. Zenica has been deemed one of the world´s most polluted cities with multiple occurrences of cancers, childhood diabetes and respiratory diseases. Now the citizens have had enough. They form the organisation Eko Forum and demand change…

It took the filmmakers seven years to make the film being as stubborn and committed as the protagonist, activist Samir Lemes and his fellow citizens fighting for a city, where you can breathe…

Don´t talk about it, let the images speak! They do very much so with this film. Again and again the sky above Zenica is brought to full screen through the cinematography of Nanna Frank Møller. Sometimes with a zoom in and out. They stay for a while for us to think and understand where we are and what is at stake. It is simply Cinema and that is for me the amazing narrative quality of the work the two filmmakers have done, far away from journalistic reportage, having found the right rythm, being respectful towards subject and protagonists. At the same time as the step by step fight with authorities is brought clearly to the screen. It brings us from the sky to the people, stay with them when they meet and talk – and gives us the necessary information, when there are meetings with a mayor or a minister or banker. (Oh, the absurd scene with the man, who talks about a future green city, where the citizens can walk and bike freely!)

You can see, how the filmmakers have succeeded to get the trust of the activists. You sense it in the well built scene in the carpenter’s garage (?), where one after the other enter to sit down and talk about the activist strategy with charismatic Samir Lemes as the one, who leads the discussion but also listen to those, who – he does the same – argue that they do not want the plant to be shot down meaning hundreds of people will lose their jobs. It’s about creating scenes, where you as a viewer feel that you are there together with those on the screen.

Let the white and dark smoke disappear from the sky over Senica, and the red river have clear water so the people in Zenica can have a decent life…

Bosnia, Denmark, 90 mins. 2024.