Grbavica

Esma's Secret (original title Grbavica) is the 2006 feature debut of the Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić, who also wrote it. It is a co-production of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Germany and Croatia, supported by ZDF and Arte. The title carries two meanings: Grbavica is a Sarajevo district, and the word also means "woman with a hump". The film won the Golden Bear at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival and was Bosnia and Herzegovina's Oscar submission, though not nominated.

The story follows Esma (Mirjana Karanović), a single mother in post-war Sarajevo raising her twelve-year-old daughter Sara. Sara believes her father died a hero in the war. When a school trip requires a paper proving his death, the painful truth Esma has hidden for years is forced into the open. Sara is played by Luna Mijović. Through mother and daughter, the film shows how everyday life is still shaped by the systematic wartime violence against Bosnian women.

Žbanić graduated from the Sarajevo drama academy; she worked first as a puppeteer and clown, and from 1997 made short films about post-war Bosnia. Despite a small budget, it drew mostly positive reviews and screened at Karlovy Vary, Toronto and Hong Kong. It opened in Turkey on 6 April 2007.