An exploration of the perils of nationalism and art's role as a weapon of resistance and activism, Cicin-Sain's film follows an underground community that continued to work, create and live throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo.
Amid the breakup of Yugoslavia, the citizens of Sarajevo wake to find the city under siege and Bosnia at war. As the blockade stretches for years, living becomes an act of defiance and rock and punk music inspires and distracts from the daily nightmare of Serbian shells and snipers. In a far-fetched scheme inspired by local resistance, an American aid worker living in Sarajevo reached out to the world's biggest band, U2, to see if they could help raise global awareness of the devastating conflict. The band agreed and across the summer of 1993, their ZOO TV Tour featured live satellite interviews with local Sarajevans who described their plight to the concert-goers.
"I am from that region, I was there through that part of the war, and I wanted to tell the story from the point of view of the Bosnians, even though I am not from Bosnia. I knew about the U2 concert, and I thought about using this film to celebrate humanity and the difficulties that people went through, so that the audience could understand what happened there." (Nenad Cicin-Sain)