Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic, winner of Berlin's Golden Bear in 2006 for her feature debut Grbavica, began shooting her second feature film On The Path in Bosnia-Herzegovina today.

Featuring a cast including Leon Lucev, Zrinka Cvitesic, Sebastian Cavazza and Grbavica's lead actress Mirjana Karanovic, Zbanic's new film centres on a young couple Luna and Amar trying to put the painful past of the Bosnian conflict behind them and start a family.

However, Amar is sent into a spiral of despair and depression after being suspended from work for drinking on duty. By chance, he meets an old war buddy, who is now a member of fundamentalist Muslim community, and despite Luna's resistance becomes increasingly attracted to the community's teachings after initial uncertainty.

The Bosnian-German-Austrian-Croatian co-production is being produced by Zbanic's own company Deblokada Filmproduction with Pola Pandora Filmproduktion, Coop 99 Filmproduction and Ziva Filmproduction in co-production with ZDF's Das kleine Fernsehspiel unit and in association with broadcasters ARTE and ORF.

Backing for the project has come from Eurimages, the Federal Ministry of Culture in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canton of Sarajevo. City of Sarajevo, Radio Television B&H, Sarajevo Tobacco Factory, BH telecom, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI), Vienna Film Fund (FFW) and the Audiovisual Fund Croatia.

Principal photography at locations in Sarajevo and the Lake Jablanica will continue until Nov 7.

In addition, ZDF's Das kleine Fernsehspiel and ARTE are partners on another two films in production and one in preparation.

Eva Stankievicz's You Will Not Know, with Agnieszka Grochowsk, Wojciech Zielinski and Daniel Olbrychski, began shooting in Poland's Wroclaw and Lubiaz for centrala filmproduktion on Aug 28 which was also the first day of principal photography for Lancelot von Naso's Iraq war drama Waffenstillstand (Armistice).

The Drife Deyhle&Richter Filmproduktion stars Max von Pudendorf, Hannes Jaenicke, Thekla Reuten, Matthias Habich and Husam Chadat and is shooting at locations in Morocco, Berlin and Switzerland until the beginning of November.

In addition, Israeli documentary filmmaker and editor Haim Tabakman's fiction feature debut, the gay love story Eyes Wide Open, will start production in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from Sept 21.

Hamburg-based Riva Film, the co-producer of The Syrian Bride and Lemon Tree, is a partner with Pimpa Production and Totally Production.

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