''Seasons of War'' is the first film directed by Seda Eğridere. The script was written by Eğridere and Mark Harley. Production for ''Seasons of War'' took place in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

in July 2014, and the film was scheduled to premiere at the 2015

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internati ...

Cast

* Adnan Novo (as Damir) * Sanja Popovic (as Jelena) * Seda Eğridere * Dina Ganic * Sara Stambol * Sacha Ferer Gonzales

Background

Work on ''Seasons of War'' commenced in 2014. The film's plot was conceived by director Seda Eğridere while she was traveling in the Balkans and Bulgaria to research the history of her family during the 1950s through 1970s. Drawing parallels between her family experience and the experiences of local Sarajevans in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Seda Eğridere wrote the script for ''Seasons of War'' with writing partner Mark Harley. The script is based on true events of the Bosnian War.

Production

Production took place in Sarajevo over the course of three weeks in July 2014. Eğridere cast only actors from the former Yugoslavia, most of whom had lived through the war and were therefore able to incorporate their experiences into their performances. Film production was delayed due to the

2014 Southeast Europe floods Between 13 and 18 May 2014 a low-pressure cyclone designated ''Tamara'' and ''Yvette'' affected a large area of Southeastern and Central Europe, causing floods and landslides. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered the greatest damage, as the ...

. In response to the tragedy, Eğridere called on fans via Twitter and Facebook to aid in flood relief by donating funds through the film's Indiegogo campaign. Before production started, comparisons were drawn between ''Seasons of War'' and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

's directorial debut, ''

In the Land of Blood and Honey ''In the Land of Blood and Honey'' ( bs, U zemlji krvi i meda) is a 2011 war drama film written, produced, and directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, and Rade Šerbedžija. The film, Jolie's first commercial re ...

''. In response to these comparisons, Eğridere conveyed that she respected Jolie's film and her work as both a director and scriptwriter, but stressed that ''Seasons of War'' was a completely different story; not a war film, but rather a film about a couple and the difficult choices they were forced to make.

Soundtrack

The complete soundtrack of ''Seasons of War'' was arranged by Yasin Aydın and Kemal Eren of the Turkish rock band PUL, with which Eğridere had collaborated on a music video in 2012.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3725646, Seasons of War 2015 films English-language Turkish films 2010s English-language films