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Harun Mehmedinovic

Biography

First named a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar in 2003 through the Undergraduate Scholarship Program, Harun Mehmedinovic believes that surviving the daily explosions at his home in Sarajevo, Bosnia, was the greatest gift of his life. By the time he was 11 years old, he had one wish: "to precisely record the sound of war - a whistling grenade. I believe that can only be done through film."

After surviving almost four years of war, Harun escaped Bosnia with his family, ultimately arriving in the US as a refugee in 1996. Though he had never touched a computer, within two years he was competing in international web design contests and winning awards from Cyberfair, Thinkquest, and US Senator Charles Robb. As a member of the student marketing organization DECA, he began making plans to open a film production company that would support and cooperate with emerging Bosnian and American filmmakers. That remains one of Harun's key goals, along with directing movies that will have a "universal appeal and relevant stories."

As a student at UCLA, Harun has worked as a photographer, director, and cinematographer on more than 30 short films. He also founded a student film production group that gives students hands-on training; wrote and directed his own play; and earned income as a photographer for the UCLA art history department.

Harun credits his family for his conviction that anything can be accomplished with hard work. Now he feels privileged to be the first in his family to attend graduate school and hopeful that his future work "will help build bridges between cultures."

Harun was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia. He lived under communism for nine years, and his father, a dissident poet and writer, was unable to get a job. When war broke out, Sarajevo was placed under siege, and Harun's family lived without water, electricity, or a stable source of food. Harun writes: "From 1992-1995, I was in constant fear for my own life, and I spent my days in almost total isolation from the outside world. As a witness to tragedy, I developed a need to document and bear witness to my experiences. I began drawing comic books. The most horrifying experience of the war, for me, was its sounds. In my 11th year I had one wish, and that was to precisely record the sound of war. I believe that can only be done through film."

Knowing that it takes more than an education to launch a film career, Harun formed a production company with 20 students he screened in the first two quarters. American Flag Productions has produced six short films; its members have gained valuable experience and training and initiated a body of work.

Because he has to pay out-of-state tuition, Harun has been struggling financially, although he has been awarded Regents and Shoninger scholarships and works as a slide photographer for the Department of Art History.

Harun has chosen to concentrate his undergraduate education not only on film, but also on theater, because it represents the fundamental form of visual narrative. By focusing on theater, Harun hopes to master his staging and directing abilities by working more closely with actors and crew without the interference of technology, and thus gain the knowledge that will help him work on films.

For his graduate and professional work, Harun wants to direct the kind of films that inspire universal human and humane values through art and narrative.

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