Children of Sarajevo is a poignant picture of a city ravaged by war and where some of the old feuds and differences, particularly with regards to class and religion, still exist. Marija Pikic is entirely convincing in the role of Rahima, a young woman looking after her orphaned teenage brother and working long shifts as a assistant cook in a restaurant. She has put a distance between herself and her past by converting to Islam and wearing a veil. Some of her former friends and colleagues, and even her brother, have still not come to terms with her conversion. Rahima is a strong and independent character turning down the favors offered by the local grocer who's in love with her. When her brother breaks the expensive phone of minister's son, the issues of corruption, both moral and political, are also brought to the surface. Children of Sarajevo was fittingly selected to open the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival where Marija Pikic deservedly won the best actress prize. Interstingly, the director Aida Begic wears a veil herself and one wonders if there are any personal and autobiographical elements in the story depicted in the movie.
