The Sky Above Zenica

Zlatko Pranjic, Nanna Frank Møller / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark / 2024 / Czech Premiere / 92 min.

synopsis

With the fall of the communist regime, predatory capitalism invaded Bosnia and Herzegovina. ArcelorMittal, the largest global steel producer, shows the repulsive face of ruthless subordination to profit to the people of the Balkan state. Its factory regularly pollutes the eponymous sky above Zenica with fumes at levels hundreds of times higher than the standards perceived as healthy. And representatives of the state and local government only submissively stand by. The documentary follows the activities of members of a local environmental organisation over the course of several years, drawing attention to the fatal consequences of unregulated production on the health and lives of local people.

“The activists struggle not only with visible signs of serious and far-reaching violations of existing ecological regulations, resulting in multiple cases of grave cancer among residents, but most of all with a total lack of hard data, research, and reliable, independent information sources on the factory’s actual activity and its consequences.”

Quote source: Modern Times Review

biography

Zlatko Pranjić (1965) is a Bosnian theatre and film director. He was born in Zenica. He founded the production company The Theatre With Accent in London. Nanna Frank Moeller (1972) is a Danish filmmaker. She co-founded the Danish Association of Film Editors. Her documentaries have won awards at festivals around the world.