Varun Sasindran
Omarska - Film - 19min - 2018
presented as part of the exhibition Panorama 20
Film
In this film, the filmmaker enters into conversation with the survivors of the Omarska concentration camp in Prijedor (Bosnia-Herzegovina). The film begins with the recollection of their memories and eventually touches on the present situation of the former camp.
The former site of the Omarska concentration camp is now a factory owned by Arcelor Mittal. The company’s manufacturing process now takes place where civilians were once detained. There is no memorial for the victims killed at Omarska. Once a year, the premises are open to the public for the commemoration. The film intents to reconstruct the space in 3D animation from the archive images, videos, and recent photographs -guided by the testimonies of the survivors of the camp.
Varun Sasindran
Varun Sasindran is thirty-one years old and grew up in the Indian state of Kerala, where he was born. In 2008 he graduated with a degree in electronic engineering and communication and continued his studies in software development. Four years later, he left his job to study cinema. His desire to make films was inspired by his experiences at international film festivals. Later, he obtained a post-diploma qualification in Visual Media at Calicut University under the director of C.S. Biju, director of the Centre for Research and Cultural Studies in South Asia and continued with an MA at the Sarajevo Film Academy. He is now at Le Fresnoy - Studio national, which he found out about through Alain Fleischer at a workshop in Sarajevo.
