Back to Bosnia

Directed By Sabina Vajrača

A family returns to post-war Bosnia to reclaim their stolen property and are forced to examine their past.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
Filmmaker Sabina Vajraca documents her Bosnian Muslim family's return to their home of Banja Luka, Bosnia, to recover their stolen belongings years after being forced to flee to the United States. In Bosnia, they witness the devastation of the city, visit war crimes sites, and confront the family that has been living in their former apartment with all their furnishings for a decade.

Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sabina Vajrača immigrated to the U.S. as a child war refugee, and started her directing career in NYC theater. 

Her first film, the critically-acclaimed feature documentary BACK TO BOSNIA, premiered at AFI Fest, screened at 30+ festivals worldwide, and was featured in BBC’s "Top 100 of the Greatest Films Directed by Women." It's streaming on multiple platforms, including Amazon

Since then, she wrote, directed, and produced commercials, music videos, and over a dozen films, including the multiple-award-winning VARIABLES, the Warner Bros./USC period feature VOODOO MACBETH, and the short drama SEVAP/MITZVAH, which was a 2024 Academy Awards contender and won the 2023 Humanitas Prize. 

Her other accolades include the Directors Guild of America SFA Grand Prize, grants from the Claims Conference and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, numerous film festival awards, and nominations for the Student Academy Awards and Student BAFTA. 

Outside of her own work, she assisted writer/director Max Mayer on his Sundance drama ADAM, starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, worked with Walter Mosley and Diane Houslin on their BAFTA-nominated thriller THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT, starring Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins, and apprenticed directors on MADAM SECRETARY and 9-1-1.

Sabina’s a member of Film Fatales and BAFTA, and an alumna of Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directing Mentorship, Hayama Residency, Stowe Story Labs, and Almanack Screenwriters. She holds an MFA in Film and TV Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and is repped by Vision Entertainment and GGSSC.