In 1992, Bosnia & Herzegovina is a new nation on the brink of destruction. Devastated by political fracturing and a complicated holy war, it has become the battleground for the most violent and brutal crimes in Europe since World War II. In the fictional town of Zenovica, located in the mountains north of Sarajevo, Violeta Petrovic has watched these events unfold on the news with wide-eyed disbelief. She questions the possibility that such bedlam and betrayal could ever find its way to her community.
Then Violet witnesses the brutal murder of an elderly Muslim woman by one of her Serb countrymen, and realizes that the same war is festering in her own neighborhood. Suddenly, she is no longer allowed to play with the children who dress in green and call themselves “Bosniaks”, for they are the Muslim betrayers who have brought war to the Balkans for centuries. She is told to ignore the trucks of battered refugees who enter her town daily to seek shelter in the local football stadium from gangs of militiamen and thugs. These are the orders of her stubborn, young companion Goran, who has taken control of their friends with his hateful rhetoric. He wants to see an end to all of Bosnia's Muslims.
But when Violet’s guilt drives her to steal the murdered woman’s death notice from a public square where obituaries are listed, she is astonished when the ghost of Sanja Imamovic comes to collect what is rightfully hers. Through the spirit, Violet’s notion of what it means to be Serb or Muslim in Bosnia are changed forever. In a place where Serbs are branded traitors and killed for helping Bosniaks, Violet must decide if she will help put the woman’s soul to rest by helping a local Muslim couple, with Goran watching her at every turn, or if she will allow her silence to consume them both.
The Notice is a tale of courage and redemption set against the graphic backdrop of unspeakable atrocities. It is the story of how Sanja’s spirit helps Violeta make sense of life in a city under siege—a city where innocent families are terrorized, militiamen level entire neighborhoods in the night, and propaganda is the only law. Based on accounts from actual survivors, The Notice is the story of how Violet’s life is drastically altered by the conflict in her homeland over the span of several years, culminating with her daring attempt to escape from a community that is crumbling around her.
Then Violet witnesses the brutal murder of an elderly Muslim woman by one of her Serb countrymen, and realizes that the same war is festering in her own neighborhood. Suddenly, she is no longer allowed to play with the children who dress in green and call themselves “Bosniaks”, for they are the Muslim betrayers who have brought war to the Balkans for centuries. She is told to ignore the trucks of battered refugees who enter her town daily to seek shelter in the local football stadium from gangs of militiamen and thugs. These are the orders of her stubborn, young companion Goran, who has taken control of their friends with his hateful rhetoric. He wants to see an end to all of Bosnia's Muslims.
But when Violet’s guilt drives her to steal the murdered woman’s death notice from a public square where obituaries are listed, she is astonished when the ghost of Sanja Imamovic comes to collect what is rightfully hers. Through the spirit, Violet’s notion of what it means to be Serb or Muslim in Bosnia are changed forever. In a place where Serbs are branded traitors and killed for helping Bosniaks, Violet must decide if she will help put the woman’s soul to rest by helping a local Muslim couple, with Goran watching her at every turn, or if she will allow her silence to consume them both.
The Notice is a tale of courage and redemption set against the graphic backdrop of unspeakable atrocities. It is the story of how Sanja’s spirit helps Violeta make sense of life in a city under siege—a city where innocent families are terrorized, militiamen level entire neighborhoods in the night, and propaganda is the only law. Based on accounts from actual survivors, The Notice is the story of how Violet’s life is drastically altered by the conflict in her homeland over the span of several years, culminating with her daring attempt to escape from a community that is crumbling around her.
