Picturing War: Professor Scavenges for Food in Besieged Sarajevo

Bosnian photographer, film director and cinematographer Sahin Sisic documented life in the besieged capital Sarajevo during the 1992-95 war, a period that formed the rest of his private and professional life.

One of the most memorable pictures he recalled from that time was his photograph of professor Semsudin Harlac, which was taken in 1992.

"He was walking around the city during the war collecting food with a bucket; he would eat a bit and share the rest of the food with stray cats and dogs in the city," Sisic told BIRN.

Sisic noticed Harlac because he was wandering around on foot in what was, at that time, a very dangerous environment. "That was fascinating for me. When he would arrive, all of these suffering animals would come to him," Sisic said.

He befriended Harlac and started following him around the city. At some points, Harlac was greeted by around 30 cats and dogs that had been left to survive outside. "People were not on the streets, they were in basements and shelters," Sisic explained.

But even during the hardest times, when food was scarce, people shared what they had with Harlac, Sisic said: "It was very touching for me to see that some old women noticed what he was doing so they would leave a handful of rice or pasta on windowsills for him."

Sisic also told us about one occasion when he left his home without his camera to fetch water. On the way back home, he encountered heavy shelling and immediately missed having his camera.

"It was much easier to watch everything that was happening through the lens, because I felt distanced from it. It gave me a certain bravery," he said.

Sisic was not working for news agencies or foreign media, but dedicated his time and limited resources to documenting...