Mother-Daughter Duo Walk the Sarajevo Red Carpet in Palestinian Flag Dresses · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Sabina Šabić and her daughter, Sara, in the “flag gowns” at the Sarajevo Film Festival red carpet, August 2014. Photo by Davorin Sekulić/klix.ba, courtesy of Media Centar Sarajevo, used with permission.
A theater company executive producer and her young daughter turned their red carpet fashion into a political statement at the the Sarajevo Film Festival this month with matching gowns made from Palestinian flags.
Sabina Šabić of Sarajevo War Theater and her daughter arrived at the opening ceremony of the film festival, the largest in southeastern Europe and one of the continent's most prominent, in the outfits. Sarajevo's Media Center, a non-government organization that fosters independent media and professional journalism in Bosnia-Herzegovina, reported on this and other examples of “fashion activism” at the festival, including a gown inspired by the recent tragic floods in the region, seen by some as a tasteless attempt to raise awareness about the natural disaster.
Šabić's Palestinian “flag gowns” were reportedly met with support from other guests at the festival's opening ceremony, but have raised some discussion on social networks in the region regarding the use of venue and Šabić's child in sending this statement to the world.
The Sarajevo Film Festival has always been host to political messages. International entertainers like Bono, Angelina Jolie and others have attended and supported the festival, each expressing their own opinions on regional and global political matters.
The 2014 edition was the festival's 20th since its unusual inception in late October 1995 during the Siege of Sarajevo.