Award-winning Bosnian writer Abdulah Sidran dies at 79

Sidran was an outspoken critic of the forces that have repeatedly torn the Balkans apart, including his native Sarajevo. Photo: YouTube screenshot

Bosnian author and poet Abdulah Sidran, who screenwrote a Cannes-winning film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica, has died in Sarajevo, aged 79, local media reported at the weekend.

Sidran, who died late on Saturday, penned the script for Kusturica's When Father Was Away On Business, which won the Palme d'Or prize at Cannes in 1985.