Samir Mehanović

Samir Mehanović is a Bosnian and British film director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his documentaries and narrative films exploring themes of war, identity, migration, and human rights. He is a BAFTA and IDFA award winner whose work often focuses on social justice and the experience of refugees. Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mehanović came to the United Kingdom as an immigrant from the Bosnian War and has lived in the United Kingdom since 1995. In September 2025 Mehanović was awarded the British Muslim Heritage Centre Award for Excellence in Art in recognition of his contribution to British cinema and the arts.

Early life

Mehanović was the youngest of five sons in a family of coal miners. His father survived a mine explosion but was unable to continue mine work. He found employment as an usher and janitor at Moša Pijade, the Bosnian Cultural Centre in Tuzla, moving his family there. Young Mehanović often visited Moša Pijade and was inspired by the work of theatre companies from Eastern Europe and Russia.

During the Bosnian War, the siege of Tuzla by Serb forces put an end to Mehanović's studies. He established JLS Avantgarde Theatre company, developing as a director, learning together with his actors and creating plays. On 25 May 1995, Mehanović had just arrived at the theatre for rehearsals when the Tuzla massacre occurred. He was saved, but 71 young people were killed. Two months later, in July, Mehanović witnessed the arrival of refugees, mostly women and children, from the Srebrenica genocide.

Mehanović left Tuzla with his theatre company to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, invited by Richard Demarco, co-founder of the Traverse Theatre. Mehanović remained in Edinburgh and applied for asylum, briefly living on the streets before finding a council flat in Niddrie, a suburb of Edinburgh, at the time one of the most deprived areas in Scotland.

Career Mehanović continued directing theatre in Edinburgh and in 2001 directed his first short film, Pigs Flying Pink. In 2004 he completed an MA in film and TV at the Edinburgh College of Art, winning the Ingles Allen Award (2004) for Best MA Film with Game Over. The following year, he wrote and directed a short film, The Way We Played, about two boys from different religious backgrounds at the beginning of the Bosnian war. He won the Best First Time Director BAFTA Scotland award (2005) for this, and the Houston Film Festival Silver Award (2006).

Mehanović directed Class Enemy: A Message from Sarajevo, a 30-minute documentary, for BBC Artworks in 2008. The same year he directed Richard and I, about his relationship with art impresario Richard Demarco.

In 2014, he directed the short film Mouth of Hell (2015), filmed on location in Jharia, India. In 2016 Mouth of Hell was awarded Grand Prix Award at Drama ISFF, Greece. Mouth of Hell was nominated for BAFTA in 2017

In 2015, commissioned by the BBC, Mehanović made a film about the Srebrenica genocide The Fog of Srebrenica. This won the IDFA Special Jury Award as well as the Amnesty International Award at Ljubljana Doc Fest and also Best Cinematography Award at SEE Fest in LA.

During 2014-2018 Mehanovic filmed, directed and produced Through Our eyes, a film about Syrian refugees, which premiered in April 2018 at the Bertha Dochouse at Curzon Bloomsbury London.

In 2018/19 he produced and directed the documentary Spank the Banker.

In 2025 Mehanović's film Hijabi, which had a preview screening at Westminster, was broadcast on Al Jazeera English as My Hijab, My Choice. In September 2025 Mehanović was awarded the British Muslim Heritage Centre Award for Excellence in Art in recognition of his contribution to British cinema and the arts.

Stage Year Title Role 1992 The Prophet Director 1993/94 Fly out of the cage Director 1994 Dream of the Little Prince Director 1995 Pictor and Pictoria Director 1995 Lora's Bosnian Diary Director 1997 Vivus Figurae Director 1998 Carmina Burana Director 2000 Performance on the Music by J.S. Bach Director 2000 The Double Director 2001 Perpetual Motion I Director 2002 Perpetual Motion II Director

Film

Year Title Role Type 2001 Pigs Flying Pink Director Short film 2004 Game Over Director Short film 2005 The Way We Played Director, writer Short film 2008 Richard and I Director, producer, camera Documentary 2009 Class Enemy: A Message from Sarajevo Director BBC Documentary 2014 Mouth of Hell Director, writer Short film 2015 The Fog of Srebrenica Director, producer, camera BBC World documentary 2018 Through Our Eyes Director, producer, camera documentary 2019 Spank the Banker Director, producer, camera documentary 2021 Banksters Director, producer, camera TV special RT 2024 Hijabi Director, producer, camera documentary 2025 My Hijab, My Choice Director, producer, camera Al Jazeera documentary