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Recipient of the Harold Greenberg Fund's Shorts-to-features program (BellMedia/CRAVE) in 2020, THE DAY WE LEFT is a proof of concept short film currently available to stream on CRAVE. The feature film project of the same name is in development though this same program.

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Format: Short Fiction

Genres: True Story, Historical, Drama, War, Political,

Migrant & Refugee Justice

Runtime: 12 minutes 20 seconds

Production Company: Notable Content Inc & RadioDial Film

Completion Date: August 1, 2021

Production Budget: $33,000 USD

Country of Origin: Canada

Country of Filming: Canada

Film Language: English, Bosnian, Serbian

Shooting Format: Digital, Arri Large Format

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

The 1990's religious conflict of the Bosnian War drives a pregnant mother and her family to flee their village and seek refuge in the land of their enemy.

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SYNOPSIS
Nura wants only to raise her unborn child in their rural East Bosnian village alongside her husband, Miralem. In life, she has always been contentious with her Islamic faith. For generations, it has been the root of extreme hatred and ethnic conflict between Muslim Bosnians and the neighbouring Orthodox-Christian Serbs. At 5 months pregnant, the onset of the war in Yugoslavia puts their livelihood as ethnic Bosniaks in danger, and propels a dramatic transition in their faith and future.

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With the news of hostile forces approaching their village, the middle-class, wheat-farming couple is faced with making a life altering decision. Miralem must convince Nura that escaping to his sister’s home in Serbia – the land of their enemy - is their best option. After much deliberation, Nura realizes their plight as they reluctantly leave everything behind, including Habiba, the old religious matriarch of the village. Recruiting the help of a smuggler and posing as Serbs, Nura and Miralem attempt a border crossing but get pinned down part-way as they hide from patrolling soldiers. Here, they witness a friend from their village murdered in a horrific act of ethnic violence. Narrowly avoiding a similar fate, Miralem and Nura escape into Serbia and asylum. They go on to live 4 hard years posing as Serbs, but eventually emigrate across the globe to raise their young, growing family. It’s a traumatic true story that will forever change Nura.