Art of Peace: 30 Years after the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Art of Peace: 30 Years after the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a three day film and public talk event marking the thirtieth anniversary of the end of the Bosnian War (1992-1995).

As part of the Art of Peace project, this event brings to Sydney two leading international contemporary artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina—Mladen Miljanović and Aida Šehović—to discuss their work about post-conflict Bosnia and their films, Where Have You Been and The Final Battle.

This event includes:

• Sunday 2 November: Australian Premiere of Aida Šehović'sWhere Have You Been (dir. Mirko Pincelli) at the Dendy Cinemas Newtown, Sydney

• Monday 3 November: Art of Peace Sydney Symposium, at SH Ervin Gallery, Millers Point, Sydney

• Tuesday 4 November: Mladen Miljanović's The Final Battle, at the Dendy Cinemas Newtown, Sydney

Register for one, two or all of these events via this Humanitix page.

FILM SCREENINGS

Australian Premiere of Aida Šehović's Where Have You Been (2024, dir. Mirko Pincelli): Sunday 2 November 2025, 6:00pm-9:00pm, Dendy Cinemas Newtown, 261-263 King St, Newtown NSW 2042

30 years after genocide - the first in Europe since World War II - survivors in Bosnia and Herzegovina still search for their loved ones. Where Have You Been traces the homecoming of the Bosnian-American artist Aida Šehović and her participatory, nomadic monument to the Srebrenica Genocide. With the monument coming to its final resting place after traveling the world for 15 years, those who remain gather at the site of the atrocities to fill thousands of small, ceramic coffee cups in memory of the victims. As they collectively mourn, painful questions endure. What does "never again" mean in a world where perpetrators live with impunity? Can art and empathy help fill the void left by immeasurable loss and trauma?

The Final Battle (2025, dir. Mladen Miljanović): Tuesday 4 November 2025, 6:00pm-9:00pm, Dendy Cinemas Newtown, 261-263 King St, Newtown NSW 2042

The film project FINAL BATTLE, both in reality and in its ultimate film form, begins with a trailer-casting call. It is a casting that in the most clichéd Hollywood manner heralds the highest-grossing Blockbuster film about The Final Battle. After the Battle of Cannae (216 BC), the Crusade with Saladin at Hattin (1187), the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the Battle of Stalingrad (1942) and now at the beginning of the 21st century, not the biggest but THE FINAL BATTLE. Animated and full text enumerates the battles but also small places in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 of them, Bihac, Trebinje, Bijeljina and Doboj, where the casting for the actors in this film will turn out to be an imaginary film will take place.

ARTISTS' TALKS

Art of Peace Sydney Symposium, at SH Ervin Gallery: Monday 3 November 2025, 10:30am-4:00pm (times TBC), Observatory Hill, 2 Watson Rd, Millers Point NSW 2000

Mladen Miljanović and Aida Šehović are both contemporary artists who have represented Bosnian and Herzegovina a the Venice Biennale. They will be appearing in person to discuss their contemporary art work about post-conflict Bosnia and their very recent films, Where Have You Been and The Final Battle, which will be shown at Dendy Cinemas Newtown as part of this event.