THE WAITING ROOM

What if? What if the war in Bosnia hadn’t forced Jasmin to flee Sarajevo and abandon his acting career? What if his arrival in Toronto had offered a ladder to success rather than having to juggle auditions with his work to pay the bills in construction? What if the non-speaking role he finally landed in an art installation didn’t evoke such painful memories? And what if his ex-wife Azra’s health didn’t deteriorate so rapidly? Accompanied by his two friends Zoran and Miro, his second wife Patricia and Daniel, their 10-year-old son, Jasmin battles his personal demons and tries not to let lost dreams intrude. After a first film, Krivina, that made waves, Bosnian director Igor Drljaca, who now lives in Toronto, presents a second feature that screened at the prestigious Locarno and Toronto festivals. Gliding between realism and dream, intimate portrait and group picture, and carried by a subtle, disturbing score, the film is also strongly inspired by the personal story of lead actor Jasmin Geljo, who imbues his performance with such compelling melancholy, he could be the long-lost son of Bouli Lanners and Louis C.K.