Today at 6 p.m., as part of the BH Film program, the documentary ĆETIBA by director and screenwriter Ramiz Huremagić will have its premiere. The film is titled after its protagonist, Ćetiba Dupanović, a professor and cultural worker who, through her efforts, did everything possible to restore post-war Bihać to its rightful status as the cultural center of Krajina. The name Ćetiba originates from Arabic, meaning “female scribe.” It is also phonetically close to the Turkish name Cetiba, which means firm, strong, powerful, robust. And as the Latin saying goes — nomen est omen — the character of Ćetiba Dupanović embodies the very essence of her name, in the truest sense of the word.
Based entirely on Ćetiba’s life testimony, this documentary is structured along two parallel narratives: in the first, by the River Una, Ćetiba recounts her life story, from her birth at the beginning of World War II to the present day. In the second, filmed mostly inside the Bihać Cultural Center, Ćetiba recalls how she initiated the most important cultural manifestation in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina—the festival “Bihać Summer.” The film is enriched with family photographs spanning over eighty years, as well as archival footage from the opening of the first “Bihać Summer” back in 1999, alongside recordings of theatrical performances that graced the festival stage.
Sitting on the banks of the beautiful Una, Ćetiba reveals how she is the daughter of a father from Bihać and a mother from Mostar. Just as the strongest associations with those two cities are the powerful Una and Neretva rivers, so too does the film reveal Ćetiba’s extraordinary strength, which, like a river, keeps flowing forward—overcoming obstacles, moving on, or, in her own words, always beginning anew, for “God never lets you be too comfortable.” Some of those obstacles were the greatest tragedies a woman can experience. Ćetiba not only survived them but managed to preserve herself and those close to her who depended on her at the time.
At the same time, Ćetiba never ceased to fight for a better life for everyone around her. Thanks to her efforts, in 1999 “Bihać Summer” was launched — a festival of stage and theater art in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ćetiba served as its director for the first two editions, managing to gather theater directors from all across the country and bring to Bihać the most important plays not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina but also from neighboring countries. Her dedication was of immeasurable importance for a city with such a strong cultural tradition, one that gave rise to some of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most significant artists, yet still to this day does not have its own theater.
Ćetiba Dupanović has remained strong and courageous—yet at the same time modest, grounded, and sincere in her struggles. She is an example of Bosnian-Herzegovinian women: tireless fighters who, in times of deepest despair, bring light and pave the way for all of us.
Bojana Vidosavljević
