A well made short film is like a poem, it leaves room in it for the unfolding of many different stories. Vinko Totic, a soft-spoken man who knows first-hand the ravages of civil war has devoted his life to spreading peace and compassion. When I lived in Ottawa, I knew him best as a organizer of movie and discussion nights which I always found inspiring and thought provoking. He has now made a deeply moving movie of his own. His movie has been shortlisted for a CBC contest: Radio Canada International’s The Roots Challenge.
Of his movie, Vinko writes: “This is a story about a personal experience in my village of Janjac, in Bosnia. After the last civil war, I had an opportunity to contemplate the duality of life and death through the illusionary window of an abandoned, and largely destroyed house. That house once belonged to my great uncle and I remember it full of life and excitement. Being in that spot at that time, I consciously chose life over death by looking into the magic of sunlight, the beauty of nature and the village, as well as the simplicity of people’s life.”
You can watch Vinko’s movie (which runs to exactly 7 minutes and 7 seconds) until 8:59 am EST, Thursday the 25th of March at: The Window on Roots. So hurry up and click on through.
Restorying the Earth 