Elements Productions
Delen
Our focus is mainly on stories that are driven by social themes and on work by autonomous makers with a strong vision.
23/01/2026
Nederlands Film Festival recommends a selection of Dutch films that will be shown at the upcoming International Film Festival Rotterdam - IFFR. We are very happy 'Inn a State of Siege' made their list!
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Nieuws Bekijk hier het laatste nieuws van en over het Nederlands Film Festival.
06/01/2026
βInn a State of Siege (Qali Nur, World Premiere) is an intimate documentary gathering heartbreaking testimonies of the Siege of Sarajevo from former hotel workers.β
25 days to go until our world premiere on Januray 30th - RTM Day International Film Festival Rotterdam - IFFR! So happy to be part of this selection.
All screening dates and times will be announced soon!
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βInn a State of Siegeβ tells the remarkable true story of Mustafa, Ismet, and Farukβthree ordinary men who worked at the legendary Holiday Inn hotel in Sarajevo during the cityβs brutal siege from 1992 to 1995, the longest siege of a capital in modern history. The battered hotel remained open and became a base for foreign journalists reporting on the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It stood perilously exposed on the notorious βSniper Alleyβ, the main boulevard where Bosnian Serb gunmen targeted anything that moved. Amid daily shelling and constant danger, chef Mustafa, waiter Faruk, and driver Ismet risked their lives to keep the hotel running, sustaining not only a hotel but also those around them. Thirty years later, this story explores how survival under siege shaped them, their sons, and the generations of Bosnians who inherited both the trauma and resilience of war.
When we started, we aimed to make a short 25 minute documentary, but it turned out a full-length film of ca. 70 minutes.
To finish the documentary, we need a lot of archive footage, additional edit, colorgrading, sound mixing, and sound design. Finding additional funding is not easy at this stage, that is why we need your help.
Visit our website to watch the full video, read additional information about the film and to donate. The information is available in Dutch, Bosnian and English.
Click and go to: https://innastateofsiege.com
Thank you very much for all your support β€οΈ. You can also support us by sharing this post with your network.
Produced by Elements Productions and Dalable i.c.w. Stichting Agie and Kratak Fitilj
21/09/2025
MEET QALI NUR - DIRECTOR & SCREENWRITER OF βINN A STATE OF SIEGEβ
βI have long had an interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2019, I visited for the first time to make a short documentary, and during that stay I also began developing the idea for this film. I was living near the Hotel Holiday in Sarajevo, a place I heard about often in my journalism courses as the base for foreign correspondents during the war. What always struck me was how much attention was given to the journalistsβ experiences, while the voices of the hotel staff remained in the background. Out of curiosity, one day I went to the hotel and I asked at the reception if any of the employees from the war years were still around. That simple question led me to meet many people including Mustafa, Faruk, and Ismet. Over coffee, tea, and later Google-translated Facebook messages, we began sharing stories. When the pandemic delayed the project, we stayed in touch, and in 2022 and 2023 I returned to Sarajevo for research and longer conversations.
During one of those conversations at a coffee place, Mustafa asked his son to come and help translate a few words into English. Afterward, I asked if his son already knew these stories. He simply said, βNo.β I found it interesting that some of these stories hadnβt been shared even within their own families and how these stories travel through different generations. My aim is to capture and preserve the persistence of these stories, that have long existed at the edges of both individual and collective memory, reminding us of the human consequences in a world still spoiled by nationalism, conflict, and genocide.β
Qali Nur (1995) is a journalist, filmmaker and podcast maker based in the Netherlands. With a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences and an MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies, common themes in her work often revolve around belonging, migration, conflict, human rights and politics.
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