Sevap/Mitzvah ★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival 2023

Sevap/Mitzvah is a touching tale of what happens when people look out for one another in the most trying times. Hope shines through in the fear and darkness of Sabina Vajraca’s short film.

During WWII in Nazi-occupied Bosnia, a Muslim woman risks everything to save her Jewish friends. Fifty years later, the tables have turned, inspired by a true story.

There will have been many tales of friends protecting those who were targets of regimes in wartime Europe over the years, yet very few films tell us of the stories of those in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. But there are many stories we could and should know of what happened during that period there. Only Catholicism and Islam were recognised religions during this time, which meant that many people were taken and exterminated by Nazis and their allies. If you do anything else after watching Sevap/Mitzvah, read up on that side of the war.

Sevap/Mitzvah’s first two-thirds are terrific viewing; writer-director Vajraca keeps the film far more intimate than you would expect for such a story, focussing on how a Muslim woman has love for her lifelong Jewish friend overcomes everything else. We see the panic in the fantastic Helena Vukovic’s Zejneba early on, but that soon turns to resolute determination. She will not stand by and watch someone she cares for be taken away.

Our filmmaker isn’t afraid to show the emotional complexity of the situation either with Mustafa’s brother Izet. He is the exact opposite character-wise to his brother’s family and, instead of doing the right thing, is more protective, fearful of what may happen if caught. His character is immensely important to the film, as he shows us that while others may have wanted to help, they could have been stopped from saving more lives, yet also, we know what happened to those who did harbour and got caught. So, his fear is understandable, and you feel some empathy for him, even if he does come across as slightly bigoted. This time period wasn’t just a simple do or didn’t; there were complexities just to ensure you and your own family stayed alive.

While the transition from the 1940s to the 1990s isn’t as smooth as you would like it to be, with us spending only a very short time in the 90s, it could have served the film a touch more to have spent more time with Zejneba to give us as much fear for her situation as we were for Kabiljo’s. To have Zejneba’s difficulties truncated causes the ending to lose its powerful moment. Perhaps if we had seen the journey of Rifka and JDC to find Zejneba, then that moment would be hair-raising.

Regardless, Sevap/Mitzvah still has a lot of power towards it in the open two-thirds of the film; we are presented with a story that could easily be a feature film, and Sabina Vajraca does very well at showing us the fear not only Jewish people had during that time in Bosnia, but also how others felt about trying to protect them. It takes a lot of bravery and compassion to do what Zejneba and Mustafa did, and clearly, not many would have done the same, leaving such Jewish families’ fates up in the air.

Vajraca’s direction focuses on the tension of the times with a particularly nerve-racking moment with a Bosnian recruit who stops our Zejneba from rescuing the rest of the Kabiljo’s. As much story there was here, she does well to present a compelling, sympathetic story that celebrates life and honours those who went above and beyond to ensure humanity prevails in the face of evil.