Samir Čorkadi
"I have been part of the association "Aktion Leben und Lernen in Bosnien e.V." since 2018. I've been involved with the film festival since it started 4 years ago. What is particularly important to me about working for the organisation is actively supporting those people in Bosnia who need help.
The film festival also offers a great opportunity to show that Bosnia-Herzegovina and its neighbouring countries in the Balkans have so much more to offer than what war and hatred have destroyed. I am fascinated by the many interesting people we meet in connection with the festival and the stories that the festival can tell on film."
Julia Jäger
"I first remembered the Balkans as a child watching the news as a centre of war and crisis. Later, I was able to get to know Bosnia-Herzegovina and the neighbouring countries while travelling, which left me with many great and lasting memories. After that, I had the desire to continue my involvement with Bosnia-Herzegovina and its history and to help in some way. As luck would have it, I became aware of the film festival in 2019 as an enthusiastic viewer and have been a member of the association ever since. And since last year, I have been its chairwoman.
What I love about the festival are the international, multi-faceted films and the glimpse behind the scenes."
Hauke van der Pütten
In the association and film festival team since 2019:
"After a trip to Bosnia in autumn 2019, Julia Jäger and I became aware of the international film festival. During our visit, we were simply amazed by the quality of the festival and the organisation's commitment. Impressed by the trip and the festival, we quickly decided to get involved in the association "Aktion Leben und Lernen in Bosnien e.V." for Bosnia-Herzegovina. In addition to the general pleasure of being able to work with so many committed people, my personal highlight was the successful realisation of the online festival, which opened up new perspectives against all odds."
Herbert Schröer
"After the war, Bosnia and its people fell more and more out of focus. The people were simply forgotten. I want to change that. I have been a volunteer with the Bottrop-based organisation "Aktion - Leben und Lernen in Bosnien e.V" for 6 years. I have been actively involved in the organisation of our association's International Film Festival from the very beginning. I want the medium of film to be used to tell something special about the people in the former Yugoslavian states. I am particularly pleased that over the years I have got to know people from other cities who enjoy and want to do humanitarian work together in Bosnia."
Andrea Multmeier
Co-founder of the association "Aktion Leben und Lernen in Bosnien e.V." and co-initiator of the Bosnia Herzegovina Looks Around Festival:
"It is important to me that the Bosnian war is not forgotten. Not having experienced the horrors of war yourself should not be a reason for forgetting. I accepted the film festival as a new challenge.
The project has captivated me so much that I have no choice but to continue. I'm already looking forward to the excitement before the start of the festival. To everything planned, but also to the unplanned, the spontaneous, the surprising and the happy coincidences."
Wilfried Batzke
"I have been an active member of the association "Aktion Leben und Lernen in Bosnien" since 2015. I have been involved with the film festival from the very beginning. I am active in the association because the problems that Bosnia and Herzegovina has had since the war always affect the weakest: they need to be helped! I am part of the film festival team because the medium of film can make the problems of Bosnia-Herzegovina accessible to a larger number of people in a simple and impressive way. A personal highlight so far was meeting the Norwegian filmmakers John Haukeland and Steinar Bryn in 2018."
