Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo is an international documentary about the deaths of Admira Ismià(born May 13, 1968) and Boà ¡ko Brkià(Cyrillic: ÃÂþÃÂúþ ÃÂÃÂúøÃÂ; born August 11, 1968). The couple were natives of Bosnia and Herzegovina living in the city of Sarajevo. Admira was a Bosniak, and Boà ¡ko was a Bosnian Serb. They were killed by sniper fire on 19 May 1993, while trying to cross the Vrbanja bridge to the Serb-controlled territory of Grbavica. Mark H. Milstein's photograph of their dead bodies was used by numerous media outlets, and a Reuters dispatch about them was filed by Kurt Schork. The documentary was co-produced by PBS's Frontline, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the National Film Board of Canada and WDR Germany. It was directed by John Zaritsky.
The 1992âÂÂ1996 Siege of Sarajevo by the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) caused drastic deterioration in living conditions for its inhabitants. In 1993, Admira and Boà ¡ko, a couple with connections across different ethnic groups, decided to escape the conflict. On 19 May 1993, the pair attempted to cross Vrbanja Bridge, part of Sniper Alley, hoping for a safe passage due to an alleged informal agreement that no one would fire during their crossing.
Accounts differ regarding the exact sequence of events. According to some sources, the couple approached the bridge at 17:00, when Boà ¡ko was shot first, dying instantly. Admira, although wounded, managed to crawl to him, embrace him, and died moments later.
Journalist Michael Hedges was working with freelance photographer Mark Milstein the day the couple were shot, and they had joined up with Japanese video reporter Kuniomi Asai, who Hedges had met through a mutual friend.
Hedges recalled what the group witnessed this way:
After spending hours reporting on the increased Serbian artillery fire into Sarajevo, seeing a woman wounded by mortar fire and shelling from a tank and other Serb heavy weapons from across the river from Sarajevo, the group made their way to a Bosnian army outpost where soldiers were exchanging fire with Serb snipers. There they saw the bodies of the slain couple. âÂÂA Bosnian soldier motioned for me to look down and to the left, by a bridge across the river. The couple lay together. It appeared they had been shot earlier that day, but whether it had been minutes or hours ago, wasnâÂÂt clear,â Hedges recalled. In a story published in the May 21, 1993 Washington Times, Hedges quoted the Bosnian soldier Nedzad Alajbegovic, who had showed him the bodies, saying, âÂÂThey met and were running for the bridge but they didnâÂÂt make itâ¦No one can say why they took the chance. It is too dangerous to get their bodies.â The Bosnian soldiers blamed Serb snipers for the killings, but Hedges could not verify that independently. âÂÂI went back to the Holiday Inn and wrote the initial story on the couple who were killed, that was published the next day,â Hedges said. âÂÂThat evening, Kurt Schork came to me room, said he had seen MilsteinâÂÂs photos and asked what I had seen. The next day he developed more of the story, and his piece was seen by CNN, BBC and other other media outlets who followed with accounts on the coupleâÂÂs relationship. It became a symbol of the senseless violence that was part of the war, and it captured peopleâÂÂs imagination.âÂÂ
The two bodies remained in no manâÂÂs land for several days, with Serb and Bosnian forces arguing over responsibility for their deaths and recovery. After eight days, Serb forces retrieved the bodies using Bosnian POWs, and the couple was later buried together at the "Groblje Lav" (The Lion Cemetery).
Kuniomi Asai, a war correspondent who accompanied soldiers at the front lines, recalls events differently. He reported that Sarajevo's Bosnian government initially restricted access to the front for foreign journalists. However, through his connections, Asai joined a platoon heading to the front and encountered photographer Mark Milstein, a stringer for Reuters, who pleaded to accompany them, desperate to capture compelling images.
Upon reaching a building overlooking the bridge, Asai claims they saw the bodies of the young couple, appearing as if the man had been shot first, and the woman had collapsed while trying to help him. Local soldiers identified the snipers as Serbian forces and described the couple as high school sweethearts attempting to escape the war.
MilsteinâÂÂs photographs of the tragic scene were widely circulated by international media and used in Kurt SchorkâÂÂs article, which turned the couple into a symbol of the senseless violence during the siege. Reflecting on the mediaâÂÂs influence, Asai expressed frustration with the Japanese news agencyâÂÂs delayed interest in the footage he had captured, noting that they only pursued the story after it gained traction in Western media outlets.
The identities of the snipers remain unconfirmed, as no formal investigation was conducted. The deaths of Boà ¡ko and Admira continue to symbolize the devastating human impact of the Bosnian War, remembered both as an emblem of love transcending conflict and as a tragic outcome of war.
For this film, director Zaritsky received the Alfred Dupont Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism as well as an Emmy Award nomination.