Bosnia, July 1995. Teacher Aida works as an interpreter for the UN at the Srebrenica camp. When the Serbian army takes the city, her family is among the thousands of people seeking refuge in the camp. During the negotiations, Aida gains access to vital information and becomes increasingly more of a mediator and strategist. As she tries to separate lies from the truth, her frustration and despair grow.

Christine A. Maier’s camera sticks close to Aida wherever she is, allowing us to follow events through her gaze and at her pace. She rushes ever more frantically between the commandant’s office and the camp fence. Quo Vadis, Aida? chronicles just a few dramatic days in the life of a woman whose fate reflects that of a whole generation of women who survived the war in Bosnia. More than 8,000 civilians, almost all of them male, were murdered by the Bosnian Serb army in the Srebrenica genocide and buried in mass graves. It is regarded as the most serious war crime committed in Europe since the end of the Second World War. The role of the United Nations was also severely criticised. To this day, it seems incomprehensible that such a catastrophe could occur right in the heart of Europe. Following her feature film debut Grbavica, Jasmila Žbanić once again provides a vital contribution to processing events relating to the Bosnian war.

Cinematographer Christine A. Maier was awarded with the German Camera Award 2021 for her work and Quo vadis, Aida? was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards 2021.