SARAJEVO: Bosnian director Dino Mustafić is currently in production with the TV miniseries Armbands, about the massacre in Prijedor. He will start shooting a feature film with the same title and the same cast & crew in the spring of 2026.
Inspired by true events, Armbands / Bijeletrake tells the story of a young couple, Safet and Gorica, who find themselves in Prijedor at the beginning of the war. Safet is the star player of a small football club, but as a Muslim he is unwelcome in the city in which the Serb rule is established. Now, the two lovers must find a way to keep their love alive and survive while all around them masks are falling and are being put on.
The main cast includes Nedim Šuvalija, Hana Zrno, Alban Ukaj, Ermin Sijamija, Džana Pinjo, and Izudin Bajrović.
“How can one tell a story about the evil committed by former teammates, friends, godfathers in a way that is completely truthful, yet watchable, cinematically exciting, and dramatic in itself? Not because of the subject matter or the ‘pornography of evil’, but because it comes from the very essence of the story, one we can believe in and that concerns us, since it opens perspectives of tolerance and reconciliation through forgiveness, and without forgetting,” commented Zlatko Topčić, the scriptwriter and one of the producers of the projects.
The Armbands miniseries and feature film are produced by Kerim Topčić, Zijad Mehić and Zlatko Topčić through the Sarajevo-based Uvertira in coproduction with Propeler Film (Croatia), and Krug Film (North Macedonia).
The total budget of the four-episode TV minseries and the film is 1.5 m EUR, of which half has been provided by the BH Telecom through the BH ContentLab. The Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Canton Sarajevo, the Memorial Centre Sarajevo, and the Kosovo Cinematography Centre are also backing the projects.
The principal photography on the TV series began in August 2025, and is continuing in November and December 2025. The third part of the series will be shot in the spring of 2026, when the principal photography of the feature film is set to start.
The producers are open for collaboration both in coproduction and distribution, as there is no sales agent attached to the project at the moment.
The feature film will be ready to premiere by the end of 2026.
Dino Mustafić’ latest film, the black comedyThe Pavillion / Paviljon (Panglas) is successfully screening in cinemas after its premiere at the 2025 Sarajevo Film Festival.
Production Information:
Producer:
Uvertira (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
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Coproducers:
Propeler Film (Croatia)
Krug Film (North Macedonia)
Credits:
Director: Dino Mustafić
Screenwriter: Zlatko Topčić
DoP: Almir Đikoli
Production designer: Mirna Ler
Costume designer: Lejla Hodžić
Cast: Nedim Šuvalija, Hana Zrno, Alban Ukaj, Ermin Sijamija, Džana Pinjo, Izudin Bajrović, Dino Bajrović, Admir Glamočak, Ermin Bravo, Saša Oručević, Mirvad Kurić, Muhamed Hadžović, Aleksandar Seksan, Lidija Kordić
