China helps preserve spirit of Valter in Sarajevo

Although any new version will be updated with new technology and for the tastes of a new audience, some things are just too good to change. "Of course we would use the same music, why not?," said Durakovic. "Bojan Adamic, who was a big-name composer at the time, wrote an amazing theme that everyone knows as soon as they hear the first notes."

What is good for Valter is good for Sarajevo, for Bosnia－and the Balkan region as a whole. "Everybody in the world wants to get into the Chinese film market as it's so big and so few foreign films are shown there, so if a Chinese co-production helps get new Valter released there, it would also be good for the museum, for Sarajevo and for Bosnia."

Any production on such a scale would need to be a Balkan-wide effort. "It will be great for the whole Balkan industry, because it's all connected, so it would be beneficial for people in Serbia, Croatia and the rest for former Yugoslavia," said Durakovic.

Nearly half a century on from the story of how he saved his city, Valter could be coming to the aid of the Balkan film industry –this time, with the help of his most loyal fans, in China.

More details in Chinese can be found at valtersarajevo.ba