30th Sarajevo Film Festival Announces 54 Competitors for Prestigious Heart of Sarajevo Awards
The 30th Sarajevo Film Festival, scheduled from August 16 to 23, 2024, is set to present a diverse selection of films vying for the coveted Heart of Sarajevo awards. This year, 54 films will compete across four categories: feature, documentary, short, and student films. The festival will also showcase three films out of competition.
The competition includes 19 world premieres, 9 international premieres, 3 European premieres, 21 regional premieres, and 3 national premieres. This diverse lineup underscores the festival’s commitment to highlighting new voices and original stories from Southeast Europe, Ukraine, and the South Caucasus.
Jovan Marjanović, Director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, emphasized the festival's role in offering a nuanced view of the geopolitical and artistic landscapes of these regions. “Presenting these 57 premieres, alongside additional films in the In Focus and Open Air programs, makes the Sarajevo Film Festival a key platform for gaining insight into film art from often-overlooked regions,” Marjanović stated.
Izeta Građević, Creative Director, noted that 940 films were submitted for this year’s festival, including 190 feature films, 280 documentaries, and 470 short and student films. The selection process aimed to balance established names with emerging talents, reflecting a broad spectrum of cinematic practices and narratives.
Elma Tataragić, Programmer for the Competition Programme – Feature Film, highlighted that this year’s selection includes a range of perspectives on contemporary issues. The feature film competition will showcase 9 films, including one world premiere, one European premiere, and six regional premieres.
Rada Šešić, Programmer for the Competition Programme – Documentary Film, selected 21 films, with 19 competing for awards. The documentary programme features a mix of world, international, European, regional, and Bosnian and Herzegovinian premieres. Šešić described the selection as a reflection on the passage of time and personal narratives.
In the Competition Programme – Short Film, Elma Tataragić has selected 12 films, including world, international, European, and regional premieres. This year's shorts explore diverse themes, raising questions of identity and perspective.
Asja Krsmanović, Programmer for the Competition Programme – Student Film, included 15 films, showcasing a variety of thematic and stylistic approaches. This section highlights the creativity and boldness of emerging filmmakers.
The festival’s competition programmes exclusively feature films from Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus, and surrounding regions, including countries such as Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey.
COMPETITION PROGRAMME – FEATURE FILM 2024
Jury:
President of Jury: Paul Schrader, Director and writer, USA
Sebastian Cavazza, Actor, Slovenia
Una Gunjak, Director, writer and editor, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Juho Kuosmanen, Director and writer, Finland
Noomi Rapace, Actress and producer, Sweden
Awards:
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Award in the amount of €16,000, co-sponsored by the Tourism Association of Canton Sarajevo
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Award in the amount of €10,000, sponsored by the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with UNESCO
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTRESS
Award in the amount of €2,500
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTOR
Award in the amount of €2,500
1. DWELLING AMONG THE GODS / MEĐU BOGOVIMA, Vuk Ršumović (Serbia, Italia, Croatia, 2024, 102 min.) – World premiere
2. FAMILY THERAPY / ODREŠITEV ZA ZAČETNIKE, Sonja Prosenc (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Norway, Serbia, 2024, 122 min.) – European premiere
3. ARCADIA, Yorgos Zois (Greece, Bulgaria, USA, 2024, 99 min.) – Regional premiere
4. HOLY ELECTRICITY / TSMINDA ELEKTROENERGIA, Tato Kotetishvili (Georgia, Netherlands, 2024, 95 min.) – Regional premiere
5. HOLY WEEK / SĂPTĂMÂNA MARE, Andrei Cohn (Romania, Switzerland, 2024, 133 min.) – Regional premiere
6. THE EDITORIAL OFFICE / REDAKTSIYA, Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia, Czechia, 2024, 126 min.) – Regional premiere
7. THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE, Mo Harawe (Austria, France, Germany, Somalia, 2024, 132 min.) – Regional premiere
8. THREE KILOMETRES TO THE END OF THE WORLD / TREI KILOMETRI PÂNĂ LA CAPĂTUL LUMII, Emanuel Pârvu (Romania, 2023, 105 min.) – Regional premiere
9. MOTHER MARA / MAJKA MARA, Mirjana Karanović (Serbia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, 2024, 96 min.) - Gala screening, World premiere, out of competition
COMPETITION PROGRAMME - DOCUMENTARY FILM 2024
Jury:
Mandy Chang, Founder and Creative Director, Undeniable, Fremantle's label, USA
Marek Hovorka, Founder and Director, Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic
Wang Xiaoshuai, Director, writer and producer, China
Awards:
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Award in the amount of €4,000, sponsored by the Government of Switzerland
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM
Award in the amount of €2,000
HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
Award in the amount of €3,000, sponsored by the Kingdom of the Netherlands
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Award in the amount of €2,500
1. BIANG BIANG EXPRESS / MIÀN MIÀN JÙ DÀO, Nikola Stojanović (Serbia, China, 2024, 10 min.) – World premiere
2. DAD'S LULLABY / TATOVA KOLYSKOVA, Lesia Diak (Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, 2024, 78 min.) - World premiere
3. YOUR LIFE WITHOUT ME / AZ ÉLETED NÉLKÜLEM, Anna Rubi (Hungary, Sweden, 2024, 72 min.) – World premiere
4. HETEROTOPIA / HETEROTOPIJA, Nikola Nikolić (Serbia, 2024, 7 min.) – International premiere
5. LOXY, Dimitris Zahos, Thanasis Kafetzis (Greece, 2024, 87min.) – International premiere
6. OUR CHILDREN / NAŠA DJECA, Silvestar Kolbas (Croatia, 2024, 92 min.) – International premiere
7. THE SEAGULL / GALEB, David Lušičić (Croatia, 2024, 29 min.) – International premiere
8. WHAT WE ASK OF A STATUE IS THAT IT DOESN'T MOVE / AFTO POU ZITAME APO ENA AGALMA INE NA MIN KINITE, Daphné Hérétakis (Greece, France, 2024, 31 min.) – International premiere
9. RE:VISITING JASENOVAC, Admir Rahmanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, 2023, 12 min.) – European premiere
10. ALICE ON & OFF, Isabela Tent (Romania, 2024, 86 min.) – Regional premiere
11. A PICTURE TO REMEMBER / FOTO NA PAM'YAT, Olga Chernykh (Ukraine, France, Germany, 2023, 72 min.) – Regional premiere
12. BETWEEN DELICATE AND VIOLENT / ZARAFET VE ŞIDDET ARASINDA, Şirin Bahar Demirel (Turkey, Netherlands, 2023, 15 min.) – Regional premiere
13. CENT'ANNI, Maja Prelog (Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Austria, 2024, 87 min.) – Regional premiere
14. FRAGMENTS OF ICE / FRAGMENTY LYODU, Maria Stoianova (Ukraine, Norway, 2024, 95 min.) – Regional premiere
15. ... NED, TASSOT, YOSSOT …, Brigitte Weich (Austria, 2023, 99 min.) – Regional premiere
16. PAIN / BOL, Ivan Faktor (Croatia, 2024, 22 min.) – Regional premiere
17. PAVILION 6 / PAVILJON 6, Goran Dević (Croatia, 2024, 69 min.) – Regional premiere
18. AT THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE WHO WILL COME KNOCKING / KO ĆE POKUCATI NA VRATA MOG DOMA, Maja Novaković (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, 2024, 85 min.) - B&H premiere
19. LIKE A SICK YELLOW / SI E VERDHË E SËMUR, Norika Sefa (Kosovo*, 2024, 23 min.) - B&H premiere
20. PRASLOVAN, Slobodan Maksimović (Slovenia, Croatia, 2024, 112 min.) – World premiere, out of competition
21. BEKIM FEHMIU, Valmir Tertini (Albania, 2023, 66 min.) – B&H premiere, out of competition
COMPETITION PROGRAMME – SHORT FILM 2024
Jury:
Anamaria Antoci, Producer, Romania
Flora Anna Buda, Director, Hungary
Burak Çevik, Director and producer, Türkiye
1. BONACA, Luka Vlaho (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2024, 14 min.) – World premiere
2. GAIA, Enis Čišić, Nermin Hamzagić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2024, 11 min.) – World premiere
3. SEPTEMBER DAWN / RUJNA ZORA, Ivan Đurović (Serbia, USA, 2024, 25 min.) – World premiere
4. @TIKTOK_COWBOY, Anastaseu Ștefan (Romania, 2024, 17 min.) – World premiere
5. ALIVE / ZHYVA, Vladlen Odudenko (Ukraine, 2023, 12 min.) – International premiere
6. ELENE DARIANI, Elene Tavadze (Georgia, 2024, 15 min.) – International premiere
7. PLOT REVENGE / ZEMBEREK, Recep Çavdar (Türkiye, Spain, 2023, 20 min.) – European premiere
8. ABSENT / NOKSAN, Cem Demirer (Türkiye, 2024, 23 min.) – Regional premiere
9. ON THE WAY / RRUGËS, Samir Karahoda (Kosovo*, 2024, 15 min.) – Regional premiere
10. SANKI YOXSAN, Azer Guliev (Azerbaijan, France, 2024, 15 min.) – Regional premiere
11. TAKO TSUBO, Eva Pedroza, Fanny Sorgo (Austria, Germany, 2024, 6 min.) – Regional premiere
12. THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT / ČOVJEK KOJI NIJE MOGAO ŠUTJETI, Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia, 2024, 13 min.) – out of competition
COMPETITION PROGRAMME – STUDENT FILM 2024
Jury:
Anna Gyimesi, Director, Hungary
Delphine Jeanneret, Film curator and lecturer, Film Department of the Geneva University of Art and Design, Switzerland
Ivan Ramljak, Director, independent curator and a short film selector for the Rotterdam Film Festival, Croatia
Award:
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST STUDENT FILM
Award in the amount of €1,000, sponsored by the Regional Cooperation Council
1. ASSIST / ASIST, Maria Tsioli (Greece, 2024, 8 min.) – World premiere
2. GOOD LUCK, SARAH! / SRETNO, SARO!, Isidora Ratković (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2024, 22 min.) – World premiere
3. HAPPY END DAY / OSTANNII DEN, Anastasiia Mykhalchuk (Ukraine, 2024, 13 min.) – World premiere
4. MENTOR, Tinkara Klipšteter (Slovenia, 2024, 15 min.) – World premiere
5. NOTHING PERSONAL, DADDY / NIŠTA LIČNO, TATA, Tamara Pavićević (Montenegro, 2024, 9 min.) – World premiere
6. PITYLOS, Galatia Lagoutari (Greece, 2024, 17 min.) – World premiere
7. THE LAST DROP / AZ UTOLSÓ DOBÁS, Anna Tőkés (Hungary, 2024, 11 min.) – World premiere
8. THE SMELL OF FRESH PAINT / MIRIS SVEŽE FARBE, Nađa Petrović (Serbia, 2024, 14 min.) – World premiere
9. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DILAN / DILAN HAKKINDA KONUŞMALIYIZ, Umut Şilan Oğurlu (Türkiye, 2024, 20 min.) – World premiere
10. AGE OF THE DRAGON / SÁRKÁNYKOR, Marcell Farkas (Hungary, Austria, Luxembourg, 2023, 30 min.) – International premiere
11. BEYOND THE FACE / ONKRAJ OBRAZA, Anja Resman (Slovenia, Croatia, 2024, 9 min.) – International premiere
12. CHILDREN OF THE BIRD / A MADÁR GYERMEKEI, Júlia Tudisco (Hungary, 2024, 11 min.) – Regional premiere
13. GÜL, Lidija-Rukiye Kumpas (Austria, 2024, 28 min.) – Regional premiere
14. IF I FLOAT / DACĂ VOI PLUTI, Bogdan Alecsandru (Romania, 2024, 12 min.) – Regional premiere
15. THE CHAOS SHE LEFT BEHIND / TO CHAOS POU AFISE PISO TIS, Nikos Kolioukos (Greece, 2023, 33 min.) – Regional premiere
30th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 16th to 23rd of August 2024.