The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

in 1995 during the

siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...

in the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, and brings international and local

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

to Sarajevo every year. It is held in August and showcases an extensive variety of

feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

and

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s from around the world. The current director of the festival is Jovan Marjanović.

History

In October 1993, a ten-day

International Film Festival was held, directed by

Haris Pašović Haris Pašović (born 16 July 1961) is a Bosnian theatre director. Over the course of his career, he has also worked as a playwright, producer, choreographer, performer, and designer. He is best known for his productions of Wedekind's “ Spring A ...

of MESS. The success of this event, combined with the legacy of Mirsad Purivatra's and Izeta Građević's wartime film screenings from 1992, led to the establishment of an annual festival. The first Sarajevo Film Festival was held from 25 October to 5 November 1995. At that time, the

was still going on and attendance projections were very low. However, a surprising 15,000 people came to see the films, of which there were 37 from 15 different countries. The festival grew at a remarkable pace, now being the most prominent film festival in

, attracting more than 100,000 people annually on all programs and screening hundreds of films from 60 countries. The Sarajevo Film Festival is hosted at the National Theatre in front of which the Festival Square and the red carpet are located, with screenings at the Open-air theater Metalac, Bosnian Cultural Center, and five other cinemas and projection locations around the city. The festival has been attended by celebrities such as Robert De Niro,

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. He played Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007). Other notable film roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), ''Alpha Dog'' (2006), ''Spe ...

, Orlando Bloom,

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

, Morgan Freeman, Oliver Stone,

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

, Steve Buscemi, Michael Fassbender,

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

Bono Vox Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

, Nick Cave, Coolio,

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

, Michael Moore, Gérard Depardieu,

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Arono ...

Sophie Okonedo Sophie Okonedo (born 11 August 1968) is a British actress and narrator. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Television Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She began her f ...

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the "Brit Pack (actors), Brit Pack". He made hi ...

, Mads Mikkelsen,

Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

and many others. By 2001, the European Film Association made the Sarajevo Film Festival one of the eleven festivals that could nominate a film for the award of "Europe's Best Short Film". The 2001 winner of the Sarajevo Film Festival,

Danis Tanović Danis Tanović (born 20 February 1969) is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for having directed and written the script for the 2001 Bosnian movie ''No Man's Land'' which won him many awards, including an Academy Award f ...

's ''

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

'', went on to win an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

in the United States. In 2004, the Best Movie Award was named the "

Heart of Sarajevo The Heart of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Srce Sarajeva'' / Срце Сарајева) is the highest prize awarded in all the competition categories at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Heart of Sarajevo The official ''Heart of Sarajev ...

". Beginning with the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival in 2007 and in cooperation with the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and

Berlinale Talent Campus The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

, the Sarajevo Talent Campus has been added to the festival. In 2014, the Sarajevo Talent Campus got renamed to "Talents Sarajevo". Talents Sarajevo is an educational and creative platform for up and coming young film professionals, and has eventually come to be revered as the most prestigious film training event in the region. The festival also features CineLink, a year-long project development program resulting in an annual co-production market during the festival dates. The CineLink Market each year presents about 10 finest regional projects for feature-length fiction films, also offering festival guests a special opportunity to meet with the assembled regional industry, with emphasis on young filmmakers, producers and directors presenting their latest projects, productions and works in progress, with highlights of the regional production presented to international distributors, TV-buyers and festival programmers, making CineLink the most important international market place for new features from Southeast Europe. Sarajevo Film Festival 02

The first edition of CineLink, which was part of the 9th Sarajevo Film Festival, was held in 2003. Of the 91 entries from across the region, a three-member jury, Philippe Bober, Behrooz Hashemian and Čedomir Kolar, producers whose films have won awards at all the major international film festivals such as

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and Berlin, chose six winning films, and the winners were: '' The Abandoned'' -

Zlatko Topčić Zlatko Topčić (born 30 April 1955) is a Bosnian screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He has written a number of films, including: ''Remake'', '' The Abandoned'', ''Miracle in Bosnia''; theater plays: ''Time Out'', '' I Don't Like Mondays'', ' ...

, ''Bosnian Pot'' - Vedran Fajković, ''Slowly'' - Nikola Mišić, ''Totally Personal'' - Nedžad Begović, ''Roses for Tosca'' -

Branko Đurić Branko Đurić ( sh-Cyrl, Бранко Ђурић; born 28 May 1962), also known by his nickname Đuro (Cyrillic: Ђуро), is a Bosnian actor, comedian, film director and musician, who lives and works in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Born and raised i ...

, Simona Stražisar and ''Last Day'' - Namik Kabil. In 2019, the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

awarded the Sarajevo Film Festival the status of the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

qualifying film festival in the

Short Film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

category. Short films that win the Heart of Sarajevo Award and the nomination for the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soc ...

(EFA) short film award at the Sarajevo Film Festival will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, provided that they otherwise comply with the Academy rules.

Festival programmes and awards

Programs

*Competition (feature, short and documentary) *CineLink Industry Days *Talents Sarajevo *In Focus * *Tribute to *Open Air *Summer Screen *European Shorts *Children's Program *TeenArena *Avant Premieres *Operation Kino *Dealing with the past *Humman Rights Day *Sarajevo Film Festival Partnert Presents (Doha Film Institute) *BH Film

Awards

* Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Film * Special Jury Prize * Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor * Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress * Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Film * Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film * Special Jury Prize for Documentary Film * Human Rights Award * Honorary Heart of Sarajevo * Ivica Matić Award

Talents Sarajevo

Talents

is a program launched in 2007, under the name Sarajevo Talent Campus, in co-operation with the

and the

. Talents Sarajevo is an educational and networking platform for emerging film talents from

(

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

). Each year, more than two hundred applications are received, and only eighty are carefully chosen to attend a six-day training led by some of the most prominent film professionals in the world. In addition to meeting other filmmakers and film professionals, young filmmakers are introduced to the work of established film professionals, informed about current trends and issues in the industry, and introduced to the international filmmaking community.

Gallery

Image:Oliver Stone SFF 13 aug 2017.jpg, Oliver Stone at the 2017 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:John Cleese SFF 16 aug 2017 2.jpg,

at the 2017 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Sff 20 aug 2014 12.jpg, At the festival, 2014 Image:Sff 20 aug 2014 6.jpg, 2014 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Sarajevo Film Festival 03.JPG, Docucorner of the 2011 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Sarajevo Film Festival 04.JPG, Red carpet of the 2011 Sarajevo Film Festival in front of the National Theatre Image:Charliekaufman.JPG,

Charlie Kaufman Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), ''Adaptation'' (2002), and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). He made his directorial de ...

at the 2008 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Jbinoche.jpg,

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

at the 2007 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Jzbanic.JPG,

Jasmila Žbanić Jasmila Žbanić (; born 19 December 1974) is a Bosnian film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for having written and directed '' Quo Vadis, Aida?'' (2020), which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Lan ...

, film director from Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the 2007 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Ulrichseidl.jpg,

Ulrich Seidl Ulrich Maria Seidl (born 24 November 1952 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director, writer and producer. Among other awards, his film ''Dog Days'' won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice in 2001. His 2012 film '' Paradise: Love'' competed for the Palme ...

at the 2007 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:Belatarr.jpg,

Béla Tarr Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film '' Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordi ...

at the 2007 Sarajevo Film Festival Image:SFF 2017 Open Air.jpg, The 2017 Open Air Cinema

References

External links

Sarajevo Film Festival
- Official Website
IMDb: Sarajevo Film Festival
- SFF at IMDb {{Authority control Film festivals established in 1995 Tourist attractions in Sarajevo 1995 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Annual events in Bosnia and Herzegovina Summer events in Bosnia and Herzegovina Film festivals in Sarajevo