Bosnian film with Dutch actors and producers receives Oscar nomination

The Bosnian film Quo vadis, Aida?, which translates as “Where are you going, Aida?” has received an Oscar nomination for International Feature Film. The film features three Dutch actors and was co-produced by the Dutch company N279 Entertainment. 

Oscar nomination for Dutch-produced film

Quo vadis, Aida? follows the story of Aida, a translator for the UN who lives and works in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica before the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995. When the Serbian army takes over the town, Aida works to save her family as they look for shelter in the UN camp and becomes an insider to the negotiations. 

The film features three actors from the Netherlands - Raymond Thiry, Reinout Bussemaker and Juda Goslinga - as Dutch UN soldiers. Els Vandevorst, a producer at N279 Entertainment, said she was “euphoric and enthusiastic” about the nomination. “It is very nice when a film that is so different is recognised in this way and gets a big stage,” Vandevorst said, “This story must be told and remembered for the victims and their relatives."

The 93rd Academy Awards

Quo vadis, Aida? will be released in Dutch cinemas at the end of April. Other films nominated in the International Feature Film are Another Round (Denmark), Better Days (Hong Kong), Collective (Romania), and The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia). The Dutch film Buladó was submitted to the Academy for the same category but failed to receive a nomination.

The Oscar nominees were announced live from London on Monday morning by Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. Films with the most nominations are Mank (10), and Judas and the Black Messiah, The Father, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Minari, Nomadland, and Sound of Metal with six each. The awards show will take place on April 25.