My Beautiful Country (Die Brücke am Ibar)

A moving love story in a time of hatred: During the civil war in Kosovo, the young Serbian widow Danica falls in love with Ramiz, a Albanian soldier who, wounded in battle, seeks refuge in her home on the Serbian side of the River Ibar.

Director: Michaela Kezele
Germany / Serbia / Croatia 2012 | 88 min. | Color

HIGH PRAISE for music I composed and performed for My Beautiful Country by Michaela Kezele.
This movie about a Kosovo love story has not been released yet. This review by Jeff Heinrich was posted online when it premiered at the Montreal Festival des films du monde.

“It’s not all perfect. There are moments that are a little too precious and composed, such as the recurring motif of an innocent lamb or the rather obvious case of mistaken identity of a soldier who’s wearing the enemy’s uniform. But there are minor miracles, too: the haunting musical soundtrack, for one. Kezele went through three composers before she found the right one; the first’s score was too syrupy, the second’s didn’t work either, but the third – two musicians, actually, a violinist and a guitarist – sat down in front of the finished movie, watched it, and composed as they went along. It only took a few days, and it’s literally so fresh and new that their names – Gerd Baumann and Gregor Hübner) aren’t even on the official poster (the rejected composer’s is, unfortunately).”