13 shorts by 13 directors – including Jean-Luc Godard and Ursula Meier – try to understand what Sarajevo represents in the history of Europe. From different generations and origins, the filmmakers capture history and eyewitness reports, essays and fiction, as well as snippets of the city, its inhabitants and the century gone by.

Picture gallery

Omnibus films are always delicate exercises, even if the list of directors is prestigious and the instigator is a renowned critic. It is not enough to just throw a theme out there and assemble what comes back into a long tirade spanning two hours. If you want to see images of the city, go online and do a search. This movie is full of faces, narration, personal history or clips shot outside the country. The film is (often) boring, (repeatedly) annoying with (at least) a surprising ending: Isild Le Besco’s contribution is a nice bit of poetry that follows a little boy through the mists of Sarajevo in winter; and a short by Ursula Meier, about a soccer game shot in a cemetery, subtly reminds the audience about the past while looking towards the future. The rest is merely a stuttering series of historic footage, black and white images attempting artistry. There is a bridge, but it is shot in Rome, and Jean-Luc Godard does Jean-Luc Godard. A young Bosnian, leaving the premiere, said to his friends, "Next year, let’s make a real film about Sarajevo; all they did here is use our name."