Produced & Directed by
STEVEN EASTWOOD  &  GEOFFREY ALAN RHODES

A feature film produced in the Bosnian Valley of the
Pyramids in Visoko, Bosnia— September 2008.

Production Stills  —  Cast & Crew  

Starring, EMIR Z. KAPETANOVIC
Cinematography, CHRISTOPHER ERNST
Production Manager, NATALIE BRADY
Sound, VINCENZO MISTRETTA
Associate Producer, DALIBOR STARE
Line Producer, ZLATAN HRVACEVIC
Script Editor, DZENO MEDANOVIC
Casting Director, BELMA SUSA

In 2006 CNN announced to the world the discovery of the largest and potentially oldest pyramid in the world. This was not in Egypt but Visoko, in central Bosnia. If the discovery turned out to be true it would change the way we understand history. And even if it wasn't, the mere idea of pyramids in Bosnia could change the fortunes of a small town struggling to recover from a decade of war. For 1000s of years the locals noted the pyramidal shape of the great hill overlooking the town, but not with any thought it was real, until archaeologist Semir Osmanagich, a returnee from the United States, revealed its existence. He claims that Visoko is in fact a valley comprising many pyramids, a temple, and a network of pre-historic tunnels stretching 2.5 kilometers underground. Visoko has become a Brigadoon, embracing the pyramid theory with gusto, transforming itself economically through new enterprise. The town now has an archaeological park and a burgeoning tourist agency based on the pyramids.

Buried Land is a feature film that combines fictional drama with in-depth documentary to enter the world of Visoko and "belief archaeology". Underneath the surface there are divisions but to the outside world the town is living a united Pyramid dream. Buried Land probes the town's people for their versions of events and creates a visual environment where it is not certain where reality ends and fantastical 'buried lands' begin. The standard fact-finding format of TV news has failed to capture this faith-based narrative. The real story has yet to be told, not of the pyramids, but of Visoko, an ordinary town reinventing itself around an extraordinary set of events.

Buried Land completed principal photography on site in Visoko in September 2008. Narratives were retraced by key characters in the town to tell the stories of the small and large players in the events, using fantastical film elements to present their imaginations. Real personalities include Semir Osmanagich, the Bosnian emigrant who returned from Dallas, Texas to 'discover' the pyramid and become a new star of Bosnian nationalism, Zombi, Semir's right-hand-man, who donates all his time to the pyramids with a religious fervor, and Avdija, a young Visoko woman who has been swept up in the faith a new identity for Visoko and Bosnia. Threading the characters of Visoko together is a fictional character, Emir. Emir is a Bosnain returnee who has been sent ahead to prepare the way for the film of the pyramids. He has returned home after 15 years to find his country changed. But Emir's stories, too, seem to combine fantasy with the actual along lines that cannot be distinguished.

Buried Land is an examination of power and survival through belief, of how truth has many sides, and of how Visoko, rising from the ashes of a traumatic past, reflects changing attitudes and strategies in the post-war Balkan region. Stop a person on the street and ask whether they believe the Pyramid is real, the reply will commonly be, "Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends who is asking." What emerges is the story of passionate hope and visionary imagination. Buried Land is about how and why we believe. What is under the hill — history or hope? It may not be a pyramid as we know it, but something is there…

Buried Land is about to begin post-production in London and New York, and seeking inquiries by broadcasters and distributors. For press packet and selects reel requests, please contact:

Alan Rhodes & Steven Eastwood:

contact[at]buriedland.com