University of Sarajevo Documentary "Internet.ba" Featured in the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival Program
For the first time, the University of Sarajevo will have a film of its own in the official program of the Sarajevo Film Festival. The University of Sarajevo documentary "Internet.ba" has been included in the "BH Film – Short Documentaries" selection of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, scheduled to take place from 14 to August 21 August 2026.
This is a story of knowledge, resistance, innovation, and courage—a tale that is simultaneously technological and cultural. It recounts how University of Sarajevo students and teaching assistants at the time—Azur Ajanović, Haris Hadžialić, Hazim Kazić, Mladen Rifelj, and Brano Vujčić—established a connection with Jacques Schuurman from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam while in besieged Sarajevo. Through an exceptionally complex process, they secured support from universities across Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to register the Bosnian-Herzegovinian ".ba" domain, thereby placing Bosnia and Herzegovina on the global digital map. The film "Internet.ba" stands as yet another testament to resistance and knowledge, honoring the people who defied the dark years of the siege by believing in progress and building the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The documentary "Internet.ba" was produced to mark the 30th anniversary of the University Tele-Informatics Centre (UTIC). The film was directed by Tina Kalinić, MA, a senior teaching assistant at the Department of Directing, and produced by the University of Sarajevo and Assistant Professor Amira Kudumović, Department of Production, Academy of Performing Arts, University of Sarajevo.
The film explores the historic moment when Bosnia and Herzegovina connected to the internet and opened up to the world on 28 June 1996—the day the country's first academic internet connection was established from the premises of the University Tele-Informatics Centre (UTIC) at the University of Sarajevo.
The film "Internet.ba" was produced at the initiative of the Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović, stemming from a desire to express—in a dignified, documentary style—gratitude to those whose knowledge, expertise, and vision contributed to the development of digital connectivity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Director:
Tina Kalinić
Writer:
Tina Kalinić
Producer:
Amira Kudumović
Editor:
Admir Lisica
Director of Photography:
Miljan Kuljanin
Sound Designer:
Midhat Mujkić
Costume Designer:
Monika Močević
Set Designer:
Daniel Premec
Year:
2025
Country:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cast:
Brano Vujičić, Haris Hadžialić, Mladen Rifelj, Azur Ajanović
Screening:
15 August 2026, at 11:00
Cineplexx Sarajevo 2
