BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:28649@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:Ventilator Cinema presents: Inn a State of Siege – Amsterdam Premie re + Q&A (Special Screening) DTSTAMP:20261015T004812Z DTSTART:20261108T174500Z DTEND:20261108T210000Z DESCRIPTION:Line up: Ismet Mršević\, Mustafa Osmanović\, Faruk Titorić\nOpe n: 18:45 - 22:00 hrs\nTickets: € 14\n\nJoin us for the Amsterdam premiere of Inn a State of Siege\, followed by a Q&A\nwith director Qali Nur and pr oducer Dženita Čamo. Screening for the first time\nin Amsterdam\, this doc umentary brings an extraordinary story of courage\,\nsurvival and family t o the big screen.\n\nDoors open: 19:00\nFilm start: 19:15\nTitle: Inn a St ate of Siege\nDirector: Qali Nur\nProducer: Dženita Čamo\n\nAbout the film \n\nHow do you keep a hotel running while the city around you is under sie ge? And\nhow do you tell your children\, thirty years later\, what you liv ed through?\n\nProduced by Elements Productions\, Inn a State of Siege tel ls the remarkable true\nstory of Mustafa\, Ismet and Faruk\, three ordinar y men who worked at Sarajevo’s\nlegendary Holiday Inn during the brutal si ege of 1992–1995. The battered hotel\nremained open as a base for internat ional journalists reporting on the war in\nBosnia and Herzegovina. Situate d on the notorious “Sniper Alley”\, it stood\ndangerously exposed to gunfi re and daily shelling.\n\nBehind the reports broadcast around the world we re hotel workers whose own\nstories remained largely untold. Chef Mustafa prepared meals\, waiter Faruk\nserved guests\, and driver Ismet crossed th e besieged city to collect supplies\nand transport guests and colleagues. Keeping the hotel running meant risking\ntheir lives\, while also finding ways to support their families and help those\naround them.\n\nFor Mustafa \, who joined the hotel shortly before the 1984 Winter Olympics\, the\nwar brought a devastating contrast to the atmosphere of celebration he had fi rst\nexperienced there. Ismet initially worked in the hotel’s garage befor e becoming\nits wartime driver\, collecting food and medicine on journeys where danger was\never-present. Their memories reveal how everyday work be came an extraordinary\nact of endurance.\n\nThirty years later\, the film brings these men together with their sons to\nexplore how the siege contin ues to shape their lives. Through personal\nrecollections\, reconstruction s and conversations between generations\, Inn a\nState of Siege examines t he trauma and resilience inherited by those who grew up\nduring and after the war. It makes space for questions never asked and\nexperiences that we re difficult to share. Read about the film’s background\n[https://openrott erdam.nl/rotterdamse-producent-brengt-vergeten-bosnische-oorlogsverhalen-i n-beeld/].\n\nFor producer Dženita Čamo\, the project is deeply personal. She fled Sarajevo in\n1992 at the age of eleven and built a new life in Ro tterdam. Her commitment to\npreserving these stories helped a project orig inally conceived as a short\ndocumentary grow into a fuller portrait of th e men\, their families and the\nlasting effects of war. Interview with Dže nita Čamo\n[https://openrotterdam.nl/rotterdamse-producent-brengt-vergeten -bosnische-oorlogsverhalen-in-beeld/].\n\nThe film had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in\nJanuary 2026\, followed b y its international premiere at the Sarajevo Film\nFestival. Official film website [https://innastateofsiege.com/].\n\nMeet the filmmakers\n\nDirect or Qali Nur is a Netherlands-based journalist\, filmmaker and podcast make r\nwhose work explores belonging\, migration\, conflict and human rights. Her\nprevious projects include Between Mountains and Wars\, which premiere d at the\nSarajevo Film Festival\, and the audio documentary My Family in Gaza.\n\nFollowing the screening\, Qali Nur and producer Dženita Čamo will join us for a\nQ&A about making the documentary\, bringing these memories to the screen and\nopening conversations between generations.\n\nCome for a remarkable story\, stay for the conversation\, and be part of the\nfilm ’s first screening in Amsterdam. Tickets are also available to Cineville\n pass holders. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/ventilator-cinema-presents-inn-a-state- of-siege-amsterdam-premiere-qanda-special-screening GEO:52.3601403;4.8656923 LOCATION:OT301 - Overtoom 301\, 1054 HW Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-west,documentary,festivals,film,food,opening,q&a,stori es,vondelparkbuurt X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Line up: Ismet Mršević, Musta fa Osmanović, Faruk Titorić
Open: 18:45 - 22:00 hrs
Tickets: € 14

Join us for the Amsterdam prem iere of Inn a State of Siege, followed by a Q&am p;A with director Qali Nur and producer Dženita Čamo. Screening f or the first time in Amsterdam, this documentary brings an extraordinary s tory of courage, survival and family to the big screen.

Doo rs open: 19:00
Film start: 19:15
Title: Inn a State of Siege
Director: Qali Nur
Producer: Dženita Čamo

About the f ilm

How do you keep a hotel running while the city around you is under siege? And how do you tell your children, thirty years later, what you lived through?

Produced by Elements Productions, Inn a State of Siege tells the remarkable true story of Mustafa, Ismet and Faruk, three ordinary men who worked at Sarajevo’s lege ndary Holiday Inn during the brutal siege of 1992–1995. The battered hotel remained open as a base for international journalists reporting on the wa r in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Situated on the notorious “Sniper Alley”, it stood dangerously exposed to gunfire and daily shelling.

Behind the reports broadcast around the world were hotel workers whose own stories r emained largely untold. Chef Mustafa prepared meals, waiter Faruk served g uests, and driver Ismet crossed the besieged city to collect supplies and transport guests and colleagues. Keeping the hotel running meant risking t heir lives, while also finding ways to support their families and help tho se around them.

For Mustafa, who joined the hotel shortly before th e 1984 Winter Olympics, the war brought a devastating contrast to the atmo sphere of celebration he had first experienced there. Ismet initially work ed in the hotel’s garage before becoming its wartime driver, collecting fo od and medicine on journeys where danger was ever-present. Their memories reveal how everyday work became an extraordinary act of endurance.

Thirty years later, the film brings these men together with their sons to explore how the siege continues to shape their lives. Through personal rec ollections, reconstructions and conversations between generations, Inn a State of Siege examines the trauma and resilience inherited by tho se who grew up during and after the war. It makes space for questions neve r asked and experiences that were difficult to share. Read about the film’s background.

< p>For producer Dženita Čamo, the project is deeply personal. She fled Sara jevo in 1992 at the age of eleven and built a new life in Rotterdam. Her c ommitment to preserving these stories helped a project originally conceive d as a short documentary grow into a fuller portrait of the men, their fam ilies and the lasting effects of war. Interview with Dženita Čamo.

The film had its wo rld premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2026, followed by its international premiere at the Sa rajevo Film Festival. Official film website.

Meet the filmmakers

Director Qali Nur is a Netherlands-based journalist, filmmaker and podcast maker whose work explores belonging, mi gration, conflict and human rights. Her previous projects include Betw een Mountains and Wars, which premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival , and the audio documentary My Family in Gaza.

Following t he screening, Qali Nur and producer Dženita Čamo will joi n us for a Q&A about making the documentary, bringing these memories t o the screen and opening conversations between generations.

Come fo r a remarkable story, stay for the conversation, and be part of the film’s first screening in Amsterdam. Tickets are also available to Cinev ille pass holders.

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