Bosnia and Herzegovina has officially chosen My Late Summer, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Danis Tanović (The Postcard Killings), for the 2025 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
Tanović won Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2002 and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with his film No Man’s Land (2001). Tanović returns to the award circuit with My Late Summer, a comedy-drama that explores grief and romance in the wake of death.
My Late Summer premiered as the opening film of the 2024 Sarajevo Film Festival. The story follows Maja, played by Anja Matković (Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair), a confident 30-year-old who seeks a solution to an inheritance conflict. Maja’s experience on the island with its eccentric residents and an unexpected romance brings her to confront long-buried issues.
Tanović, a key figure in Bosnian cinema, remains the only Bosnian director to have won an Academy Award. His 2013 film An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker was shortlisted for the Academy Awards but did not secure a nomination. International filmmakers like Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) reach the global film festivals and The Oscars by telling similarly introspective stories about individuals grappling with both personal and historical traumas.
My Late Summer was produced by Propeler Film, known for their 2023 feature Promatranje, in collaboration with Tangaj Production (Europa), Obala Art Centar, Tramal Films (The Birdbreeder), and film house Bas Celik.
The shortlist for Best International Feature Film will be revealed on December 17, and the final nominations will be announced on January 17. The Academy Awards will take place on March 2.
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