When bombs fell, these nerds grabbed manuscripts instead of guns. Absolute legends.
Documentary which tells the story of a group of men and women who risked their lives to rescue a library - and preserve a nation's history - in the midst of the Bosnian war. Amid bullets and bombs and under fire from shells and snipers, this handful of passionate book-lovers safeguarded more than 10,000 unique, hand-written Islamic books and manuscripts - the most important texts held by Sarajevo's last surviving library.
Direction
Hobkinson finds tension in silence and careful hands.
Production
Archival footage hits like a brick through glass.
Director
Sam Hobkinson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Gazi Husrev-beg Library's collection dated to 1537, making it one of Europe's oldest continuously housed Islamic manuscript collections.
Serb forces specifically targeted libraries and cultural institutions as part of ethnic cleansing—this wasn't collateral damage, it was deliberate erasure.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
