In the middle of a mountain forest above Sarajevo, an Olympic luge track lies abandoned and neglected since the 1984 Winter Games, covered with graffiti and riddled with bullet holes from the Yugoslav Wars. It’s here that three teenage boys — Hamza, Mirza, and Zlatan — dream of competing in luge as a way out of a country still suffering from old wounds. Their devoted coach, Senad, volunteers his time to maintain the track and train the boys, but the pursuit of their Olympic dreams is challenged by a lack of institutional and financial support, and as time passes, the boys’ lives begin to diverge.
Centred on a struggle for purpose and meaning, director Ryan Sidhoo’s documentary digs into the boys’ lives and aspirations, revealing a depth of personal emotional responses amidst sociopolitical issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina. An ambitious, clear-eyed, and hopeful look at the next generation striving to clear out the rubble from the past and overcome the sins of their fathers.
Ryan Sidhoo
Mirza Nikolajev, Zlatan Jakić, Hamza Pleho, Coach Senad Omanović
Canada/Bosnia
2025
In English and Bosnian with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Friday January 16
Saturday January 17
Sunday January 18
Tuesday January 20
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Ryan Sidhoo, Graham Withers
Producer
Ryan Sidhoo
Screenwriter
Ryan Sidhoo, Graham Withers
Cinematography
Jesse McCracken, Alen Alilović, Almir Djikoli, Ervin Golubović, Leigh Lisbão Underwood, Will Pugh
Editor
Graham Withers
Original Music
Edo Van Breemen, Johannes Winkler
Also Playing
The Blue Star
In crisis, a popular singer quits Spain to backpack in Argentina. There he comes under the spell of a veteran musician, who teaches him the art of chacareras, zambas and vidalas. It's a journey of musical kinship and spiritual reawakening.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
