The Oscar-short-listed film Quo Vadis, Aida? is a cinematic tribute to the women of Srebrenica and those killed in a massacre that remains an open wound for Bosniaks around the world. Survivors of the genocide and concentration camps, many of whom served as extras alongside the large crew and cast, knew the pain of a trauma triggered and relived so vividly. But they participated proudly; this experience meant taking part in a new episode of history-making.
The movie is based on true events—although some characters are fictional and some scenes are fictionalized for creative purposes. The film focuses on the days between July 11 and July 13, 1995 in an enclave in Eastern Bosnia after the town of Srebrenica fell to the Bosnian Serb Army under the command of Gen. Ratko Mladic. The enclave was formed in the summer of 1992, and in April 1993, it was declared a “safe area” by U.N. Resolution 819 in response to an escalating humanitarian crisis.
