Award-winning Bosnian writer Abdulah Sidran dies at 79

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.

He also co-wrote Kusturica's 1981 movie "Do You remember Dolly Bell?".

Born in Sarajevo in 1944, Sidran started publishing literary works, notably poetry, in the 1960s.

He was an outspoken critic of the forces that have repeatedly torn the Balkans apart, including his native Sarajevo.

"Persecution along political lines in one generation ... is transmitted to the next generations," Sidran said in an 2011 interview with a local TV station.

"It's the curse of the Balkans, the curse of our destinies that here ... the past is 'hotter' than the present."

Sarajevo mayor Benjamina Karic paid tribute to Sidran, saying on Facebook: "We will remember you forever, for your testimony about the beauty, the soul and pride of the Bosnian man, about the values that make one a human."

Sidran had suffered serious health issues over the past year, leading him to withdraw from public and communicate only occasionally via social media.

He was a member of the Bosnian academy of sciences and arts (ANUBiH) and received a series of national and international literary accolades.

They include France's PEN centre Freedom Award for his book of poetry "Sarajevo Coffin" ("Sarajevski Tabut" in Bosnian), published during the country's 1991-1995 war.