In addition to promoting Bosnian and Herzegovinian film production and works created over the past year, the BH Film program also makes room for films by Bosnians and Herzegovinians living outside the borders of their homeland, as well as films thematically closely connected to Bosnia and Herzegovina, or to the experiences of Bosnians and Herzegovinians, both in the country and abroad. FOREIGN TOUNGE, a Canadian-produced feature film that we are screening on the second day of this year’s BH Film program, meets both of these criteria: its Bosnian co-writer and director has made a film whose thematic framework is most closely tied to the immigrant experience. FOREIGN TOUNGE approaches this important topic, which has remained highly relevant over the past thirty years, in a new and unusual, seemingly relaxed and humorous way — through the genre of romantic comedy.
FOREIGN TOUNGE is a film about the immigrant experience of a woman who has never been an immigrant, but who, through a series of unexpected circumstances, will find herself inhabiting the identity and language of someone she has never been before — a Bosnian refugee. Kathy (Kimberly-Sue Murray) is a lonely Canadian yearning for love. At the beginning of the film, she has virtually no contact with the immigrants who move along the margins of her hectic yet lonely life: as mail carriers or as people trying to find employment through her (Kathy works at an employment agency). She keeps them at a distance and remains largely unaware of their existence, even as she is increasingly haunted by strange dreams of a mysterious city with Oriental architecture, accompanied by an old song in an unknown language. This continues until she is involved in an accident and wakes from a coma with an unusual gift she cannot get rid of — a strong Eastern European accent.
The doctor determines that Kathy suffers from an extremely rare condition known as Foreign Accent Syndrome, and that she is only the eightieth documented case in the world. The accent may disappear on its own, but it is more likely that she will have to speak that way for the rest of her life. All the genre elements of a romantic comedy are now in place: Kathy will have to embrace her new accent and let others into her life in order to discover a new version of herself, experience transformation by helping others, and thereby earn not only love, but also a sense of self and belonging.
Kathy’s guide, companion and best friend on this journey becomes Višnja, an immigrant who, in her “previous” life, was a celebrated Bosnian and Herzegovinian actress, but who now works as a cleaner in a hospital, never losing hope that she will overcome her accent and once again have the opportunity to return to the stage and in front of the cameras. Višnja is played by Cynthia Ashperger, who is also the film’s co-writer and the author of the original story on which the film is based. Višnja introduces Kathy to the lives of people she had previously failed to notice — immigrants from all over the world who came to Canada in search of a better life, unaware that in their new country they would be forced to leave behind everything they once were: dentists working as drivers, professors working as cooks, all reduced to performing the lowest-paid and most demanding jobs, without any real recognition or broader interest from society in their advancement and full integration. These personal stories and testimonies of immigrants, told with humor in a relaxed setting, are precisely the element that sets this film apart from the conventions of a typical romantic comedy.
FOREIGN TOUNGE was directed by Boris Mojsovski, who has undoubtedly brought his own immigrant experience to the film. Born in Sarajevo into a filmmaking family, Boris continued his life in Canada after experiencing the tragedies and devastation of the war — perhaps one of the fortunate few who were able to pursue their true calling professionally. He became a highly successful cinematographer and director of photography, as well as a director, with FOREIGN TOUNGE being his third feature film. In addition to Murray and Ashperger, the film stars Steve Byers, Greg Bryk, and the familiar face of Jasmin Geljo, a Bosnian actor who has successfully built his acting career since the days of former Yugoslavia, working largely outside the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina and continuing to do so to this day.
Join us tonight at 9 p.m. at Cineplexx for a screening of FOREIGN TOUNGE — a comedy about love, selfhood, belonging and identity, about past lives and future ones, which we hope will be better for all of us!
Bojana Vidosavljević
