Dzemil Hodzic was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was only 9 when the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina started. In 1995, his older brother Amel was playing tennis in their neighborhood when he was shot in the chest by a Serb sniper. Dzemil was there, witnessing everything. He then called his mother to help Amel but sadly, it was too late. Amel died in the mother's lap. Amel was 16 and Dzemil was 12. That day shaped his life forever.
With more than 20 years of experience in TV and media, Dzemil is a video editor working on documentaries. As part of his dedication and unique mission to preserve Sarajevo's war history and his goal to pay tribute to photographers covering the Sarajevo Siege, he's the author of 'The Story Behind the Photo' video series, documenting witness accounts from world-renowned photojournalists.
Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was besieged by the Army of Republika Srpska. The Sarajevo Siege started in April 1992 and lasted for 1,425 days, it was three times longer than the Battle of Stalingrad, more than a year longer than the Siege of Leningrad, and was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
As somebody who survived the war and grew up during the siege, Dzemil realized he didn't have any pictures from that period, neither of himself nor his family. That realization led him to his mission. In 2019, after 24 years of searching and exploring, Dzemil founded the Sniper Alley Photo Project intending to find Amel's photo from that period. The period while Dzemil's brother Amel was still alive. The project which was created in loving memory of a brother became a nationwide asset for the culture of remembrance of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina and war crimes to preserve historical facts for the future generations.
In 2021, Dzemil through his Sniper Alley Photo project miraculously found the photo of his brother and himself. Thomas James Hurst, an American photojournalist took it in 1993 during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dzemil is still on his mission to find, archive, and preserve as many photos and evidence when it comes to atrocities and genocide in his homeland from the period of 1992-1996.
