Each year, goEast shines a spotlight on the oeuvre of a notable Eastern European filmmaker with an extensive retrospective. In so doing, the festival chooses to alternate between accomplished veteran directors and filmmakers who are in the middle of their career journeys. Following last year's Homage to Lana Gogoberidze, the 2023 Portrait is devoted to Jasmila Žbanić, in an extension of the line of strong women from Central and Eastern Europe at the heart of the festival's programming. Jasmila Žbanić is without a doubt among the most significant filmmakers from Bosnia and Herzegovina – and her recent European Film Award for QUO VADIS, AIDA? (2020) represents a great success on the international stage.

Born in Sarajevo in 1974 and educated at the city's Academy of Fine Arts, in 1997 the Bosnian director founded the artists' collective "Deblokada", which has also produced her films since its inception. The name was coined in the 1990s in reference to the siege of Sarajevo. Following the city's liberation, the after-effects of the war remained palpable in the form of diverse political, economic and psychological blockages, which have continued to shape the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the present day.

Jasmila Žbanić tackles these impasses through cinema. Her video art and documentary films were already featured at the documenta in Kassel in 2004. In her numerous, internationally award-winning films, the Bosnian director processes traumatic events and personal experiences of the impact of the Bosnian War. This conflict, nearly forgotten in Western Europe in the interim, is a recurrent theme in Žbanić's films. Her feature-film debut GRBAVICA (2006) was awarded the Golden Bear at the 2006 Berlinale. The film treats the systematic rape of women as a means of waging war, which managed to spark a political discussion in her native country. A look at Ukraine shows that this subject is today sadly still as relevant as ever.

Jasmila Žbanić's critical engagement with essential socio-political issues runs through her body of cinematic work like a guiding thread. For instance, QUO VADIS, AIDA? (2020) grapples with the massacre at Srebrenica. However, her filmography also includes less dramatic productions, such as the comedy LOVE ISLAND (2014). Somewhat astonished, she answered the question as to why she had made a film that wasn't about war and its effects by saying that she does only something when she has something to say about a topic and not when it is expected of her. Following her success at the European Film Awards, she was also hired as a series director in the United States, for example most recently for the video game adaptation THE LAST OF US (2022).

goEast is delighted to be able to welcome Jasmila Žbanić personally to Wiesbaden in April. Curator and film scholar Borjana Gaković will be moderating the workshop conversation with the director. Alongside her fiction features, the comprehensive retrospective will also include screenings of a selection of Žbanić's documentary films and shorter works.

Empowering Emerging Artists and Producers:  East-West Talent Lab

In 2023, goEast's educational program for up-and-coming film talent is open to all filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe as well as Germany who wish to develop their current documentary film projects further and network with like-minded peers. Running parallel to goEast Film Festival, the East-West Talent Lab is home to an intensive co-ordinated workshop program, one-on-one mentoring for projects and a public pitching session in front of a three-member expert jury.

The following prizes are awarded in the scope of the East-West Talent Lab: 

-          the Renovabis Research Grant for a documentary film project focussing on human rights issues, endowed with 3,500 euros in prize money;

-          the Pitch-the-Doc Award, featuring a further education prize package valued at 500 euros. 

In addition, the EWTL master class, traditionally open to the public, will also be taking place once again: the Polish directorial duo of Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, whose film THE HAMLET SYNDROME (2023) was recently released in German theatres, will be offering the audience insight into their cinematic work.

Accreditation

Beginning Friday, 3 March, members of the press can register here for accreditation for goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film. During the festival, accredited industry guests and members of the press will receive access to an online media library featuring the festival films. Accreditation is free of charge for members of the press who wish to report on the festival.

Save the Date: goEast Press Conference

The press conference will take place at Wiesbaden's Caligari FilmBühne as a live, in-person event on the morning of Wednesday, 19 April, starting at 11:00.

The 19th edition of the Docu Talents from the East – a closely watched presentation of the most remarkable new documentary projects from Central and Eastern Europe – will take place on August 13 during the Cinelink Industry Days at Sarajevo FF. 

The presentations by directors and producers of eight selected documentary projects will be followed by one-to-one meetings with sales agents, festival representatives and other decision-makers accredited at Sarajevo FF. 

The call for submissions to the 19th Docu Talents from the East is open until May 31. The eligible projects include mid-length or feature-length documentary projects at the post-production stage with expected premiere between September 2023 and August 2024. The eligible countries are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia (only for projects not supported by the Russian state institutions), Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 

“For the last 19 years, Docu Talents has served as a launch pad for many documentaries by both renowned and emerging directors from the region. And each year, we discover more and more exceptional documentary projects and daring authors coming from Eastern Europe. We really look forward to this year’s crop,” says Marek Hovorka, director of Ji.hlava IDFF which has curated the programme since 2005.  

Laila Pakalniņa, Vladimir Mansky, Bartek Konopka, Piotr Stasik, Peter Kerekes, Dmitrii Kalashnikov and Helena Třeštíková are among the directors whose projects were brought up by Docu Talents. The films had later world and international premieres at major film festivals including in Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam, and Sundance.

Please find more information in the enclosed press release. For more news visit www.ji-hlava.com or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Sarajevo Film Festival is honored to announce a new impact award – CineLink Impact Award (€20,000 in kind) presented by Think-Film Impact Production.

For more than twenty years, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry section CineLink Industry Days continues its mission to develop, support and present the most promising projects from the region in various development stages and formats. It offers the opportunity for filmmakers to showcase work, connect with industry professionals, and secure the resources they need to bring their projects to fruition. As a major hub for Southeast European film professionals, it has played a crucial role in the expansion of cinematic co-production in the region. It fosters collaboration and innovation within the industry, while promoting emerging talent from the South East Europe region and beyond. Continuing in that spirit, CineLink Industry Days is honored to announce a new impact award CineLink Impact Award presented by Think-Film Impact Production. The purpose of the Award is to provide support in developing a comprehensive impact campaign for a project in post-production phase participating in the CineLink Work-in-Progress or Docu Rough Cut Boutique. The eligibility of a project for the Award will be determined by the CineLink team. The Award comprises of in-kind consultation services worth €20,000 for the impact campaign. CineLink Work in Progress chooses post-production projects to showcase to exclusive guests at the Sarajevo Film Festival, including international sales agents, top festival programmers, distributors, public fund representatives, and post-production houses. Meanwhile, the Docu Rough Cut Boutique, co-organized by the Sarajevo Film Festival and Balkan Documentary Center, serves as a regional platform for documentaries in the advanced stages of editing. The winner will be selected by CineLink Impact Jury. The jury members are: Amy Sheperd, Rory Thost, and Faridah Gbadamosi. Amy Sheperd is the Chief Operating Officer at Think-Film Impact Production, an award-winning impact media company with specialist expertise at the intersection of film and social change. Rory Thost is the Head of Documentary at Participant, the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that stands at the intersection of art and activism. Faridah Gbadamosi is a senior programmer at the Tribeca Festival, director of Distribution at Open Your Eyes and Think MF, a consultant on different film projects and a freelance culture critic, a pop culture lover, who focuses in her work on making film spaces more inclusive. “Filmmakers from Southeast Europe are known to tackle social issues in their films with great care and dedication. However, the post-screening impact of these films on society is, unfortunately, often overlooked. To address this gap, we are delighted to announce our collaboration with Think-Film Impact Production. This partnership offers either one feature or one documentary film the opportunity to create a campaign that can expand its reach and engage audiences on a deeper level. By doing so, we hope to contribute to a wider, more informed and enlightened audience”, comments Maša Marković, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s Head of Industry. Danielle Turkov Wilson, Founder & CEO of Think-Film Impact Production explains the motivation behind the award: “Think-Film is honoured to be partnering with the Sarajevo Film Festival to launch the CineLink Impact Award. Filmmakers today are increasingly embedding impact thinking and actions into productions as they seek to engage and mobilise audiences for good. This Award recognises the unique value that impact holds for film success, and honours the creatives who are harnessing its potential to unlock the full power of their film.” About Think-Film Impact Production: Think-Film Impact Production is an award-winning impact media company with specialist expertise at the intersection of film and social change. Think-Film partners with world-leading film, television, AR, VR and music artists to drive forward decisions, commitments and actions that bring measurable, lasting change to global situations. Pioneers of Cannes impACT in 2021, Think-Film also leads impact programmes at the world's top film festivals, training filmmakers and shaping the film industry to be more sustainable and impactful.  More info about Sarajevo Film Festival

 

The industrial department of the Sarajevo Film Festival, CineLink Industry Days, will organize a CineLink workshop in Slano (Croatia) from 20 to 24 June, focusing on eight film projects in development. The CineLink team in Slano will focus on improving production values by connecting projects and film professionals, and will offer authors assistance through extensive script development sessions. This year's CineLink Co-Production Market selection consists of eight projects from the workshop in Slano. CineLink Co-Pro Market 2023, during the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, present a total of 11 in-development feature film projects in front of more than 150 producers, distributors, and sales agents from more than 40 countries. While the Ponta Lopud Festival is being held nearby, participation in the workshop in Slano will give participants the opportunity to interact and network with film professionals and renowned guests. They will also attend the masterclass that will be held at the Ponta Lopud Festival by Ruben Östlund, two-time winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and last year's winner of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Film Festival. This year's list of the CineLink Co-Production Market consists of established filmmakers, as well as those who are making their debut with feature films. CineLink welcomes the award-winning alumni of the Sarajevo Film Festival, including Zeynep Dilan Süren, Dušan Kasalica and Gabriel Tzafkas. The list also includes authors who have premiered their previous films at renowned film festivals, such as Erenik Beqiri with THE VAN, who was nominated at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Short Film, and won the Best Short Film Award at the Les Arcs European Film Festival, Olivér Rudolf with the film FONICA M-120, nominated for the Cinefondation Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2021, Marius Olteanu with the feature film MONSTRI, premiered at Berlinale 2019 and Kateryne Gornostai with the film STOP-ZEMLIA, which premiered at Berlinale in 2021. CineLink would like to welcome new and most promising authors from the region, including Josip Lukić, Đorđe Vojvodić, Ana Kitanova and Brigita Kanyaro. Sarajevo Film Festival and CineLink Industry Days have built a reputation by diligently encouraging and discovering talent through various programs. Among the successful film achievements created with CineLink Industry Days, the film A SAFE PLACE stands out, from director Juraj Lerotić, who won two Hearts of Sarajevo awards at last year's Sarajevo Film Festival: for Best Film and Best Actor. CineLink Industry Days for Co-Production Market offers a significant number of awards through cooperation with regional film funds such as the Slovenian Film Centre, the Film Centre of Serbia, and the Film Centre of Montenegro, as well as international partners: Eurimages and Arte. The diverse range of accolades presented at CineLink Industry Days makes it a stable starting platform for international and regional success. The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will be held from 11 to 18 August 2023 CONTACT Industry Administration This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The CineLink workshop in Slano started on June 20 with activities for projects of this year's selection of CineLink Co-Production Market which will present a total of 11 feature-length film projects during the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival.

For the next three days, the participants of the workshop in Slano will have the opportunity to attend the masterclass of Juraj Lerotić, whose debut feature film SAFE PLACE developed at CineLink and has so far received 15 awards, including two Hearts of Sarajevo: for best film and best actor; then Juha Kousmanen, a Finnish director and screenwriter whose films have received multiple awards at festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Locarno Film Festival, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, producer and co-producer of more than 25 internationally successful films, including the TRIANGLE OF SADNESS from Ruben Östlund, two-time winner of the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and last year's winner of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Film Festival, and Giorgos Karnavas, a member of the European Academy of Film and the founder of the Synch Festival.

As for activities that include work on script development and production value, the CineLink team organized a series of meetings with mentors whose work achieved international success. Among the mentors with whom the participants will have the opportunity to develop their films are successful screenwriters and script consultants such as Franz Rodenkirchen, Francoise von Roy and Elma Tataragić, independent and influential producers of art-house films from the region such as Jelena Mitrović from Serbia, Bianca Oana from Romania, as well as Yorgos Tsourgiannis from Greece, and others.

The director, Dušan Kasalica, is among the participants in the CineLink workshop in Slano, who shared his impressions after the first day: “As a director coming from Montenegro, it makes perfect sense for Sarajevo Film Festival, as the most important festival in the region, to be my first address for all my projects. I was fortunate to participate in nearly every programme of the Sarajevo Film Festival, from the Sarajevo Talent Campus, to a selection of short films. My first feature film also participated at CineLink, I had a premiere at the Sarajevo Film Festival, so I really feel that my career is inextricably linked to the Sarajevo Film Festival and it was completely logical for me to apply for another feature film at CineLink.”

Kasalica emphasizes that CineLink is the best possible way for the project to be presented to potential partners and foundations.

“On the other hand, at this stage of CineLink, it is valuable for me to hear an opinion about the project from numerous mentors with whom we look at the project from different aspects, both from the creative side and at the scenario level, as well as from the financial side. CineLink always tries to bring together a team of people who know how to approach the project in the right way. I have the impression that we always get the right mentors who understand the project, but also understand the needs of that project, as well as the way it is best to correct everything that we are working on to actually make the final of that project as good as possible," Kasalica said.

The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 11th to 18th of August 2023.

CONTACT
Industry Administration
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Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality, sponsored by Mastercard, is dedicated to the promotion of gender equality for debut films by female authors. Films and directors eligible for the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality are not limited to Competition strands and include other programmes and territories as well, provided that the film is the director’s first feature film.

The Sarajevo Film Festival Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality was established by Sarajevo Film Festival in 2021 as a continuation of the activities in which the Sarajevo Film Festival contributes to the establishment of women's equality in the film industry.

Jury members who will serve on the Jury for Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival are producer Jay Van Hoy, Festival Director of Sydney Film Festival Nashen Moodley and Head of Programming in the Eye Filmmuseum Mila Schlingemann.

Jay Van Hoy 
Producer 
(USA)

Jay Van Hoy has produced over 30 films including the Cannes-award-winning AMERICAN HONEY (2016) by Andrea Arnold, the Sundance-award-winning box-office success THE WITCH (2015) by Robert Eggers and his Oscar® nominated follow-up THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019). Other titles include Mike Mills’ Oscar® winning BEGINNERS (2010), Kelly Reichardt’s OLD JOY (2006), David Lowery’s AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS (2013), and Ira Sachs’ LOVE IS STRANGE (2014) and KEEP THE LIGHTS ON (2012). Jay Van Hoy is a long-time advisor at the Sundance Institute Creative Producing Lab, a participant in the creation of the Catalyst program at Sundance, and a mentor for the Cinetrust mentorship program at Cinereach.

Nashen Moodley 
Festival Director of Sydney Film Festival 
(Australia, South Africa)

Nashen Moodley is in his twelfth year as Festival Director of Sydney Film Festival. During his tenure, the festival has grown vastly. Moodley’s career in film programming has encompassed many leadership roles, including Manager at the Durban International Film Festival (2001–2011) and as a Programming Consultant for Dubai International Film Festival (2005–2017). During Moodley’s 11 years at Durban International Film Festival, he dramatically increased its content and reach. He has been a jury member at various film festivals worldwide including San Sebastián, Busan, Toronto, Rotterdam, El Gouna, Durban and Tokyo film festivals. Born in South Africa in 1978, Moodley studied English and philosophy at the University of Natal and worked as a journalist before turning to film programming.

Mila Schlingemann 
Head of Programming in the Eye Filmmuseum 
(Netherlands)

Mila Schlingemann (1978, Amsterdam) completed Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Schlingemann was co-founder of the Unheard Film Festival, an annual festival about the narrative power of sound in film. Next to working for student cinema Kriterion, Mila was the project developer and producer for Rocket Cinema. Rocket Cinema is a long-standing film festival, hosted by world famous music venue Paradiso, which combines live music and film at various sites in Amsterdam. Then, after a few years of working as a programmer in Flemish Arts Centre De Brakke Grond, a cutting edge cultural organisation in the centre of Amsterdam, she returned to the film industry, and started working at Eye Filmmuseum, as Head of Programming. Eye is the national museum for film and the art of moving image in the Netherlands. It stores, restores and presents film; from classics, blockbusters and early avant-garde films to the very latest VR experiments. As Head of Programming, Schlingemann is responsible for the entire film program, varying from retrospectives, theme programming, special events, and recurring series, like the VR series, Xtended. For the latter she has brought “Carne y Arena”, the internationally acclaimed VR installation/ immersive exhibition, on immigrants in the US, made by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, to the Netherlands. Next to her work at Eye Filmmuseum Schlingemann is also on the advisory board of the cultural organisation Transnatural, that exhibits artworks where man, nature and technology merge. The platform works with a multi-faceted mixture of national and international creators, thinkers, businesses, R&D labs, studios and research institutes.

29th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 11th to 18th of August 2023

Download press release HERE.

Dealing with the Past programme of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will present authors who became famous with films about real events, as well as new authors who question the position of individuals whose lives have been marked by trauma from the recent past.

The Dealing with the Past programme is an additional platform for testimonies and stories that can serve as a base for developing film scripts, projects and films. The aim of the program is to initiate dialogue in the countries formed from the disintegration of former Yugoslavia and to deal with problems arising as a result of the wars in the region. As part of the "Dealing with the Past" programme, the True Stories Market was launched, the purpose of which is the presentation of stories and collected materials (personal testimonies).

Two films in this year's programme, MAMULA ALL INCLUSIVE by Aleksandar Reljić and WAR SOUVENIRS by Georg Zeller, will have their world premieres at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, and both are based on stories that were presented as part of the previous editions of True Stories Market

The "Dealing with the Past" programme will also host 20 young people from the Western Balkans region as part of the "In Youth Eyes" section, which includes a series of panel discussions, closed conversations and debates on peace activism and reconciliation practices. That part of the programme was organized in cooperation with The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, The Civic Forum for Peace Service - ForumZFD and The PRO-future project of the US Agency for International Development. 

The Dealing with the Past programme is supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).

DEALING WITH THE PAST PROGRAMME

CINÉ-GUERRILLAS: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS 
Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Qatar, 2022, 94 min. 
Director: Mila Turajlić

CINÉ-GUERRILLAS: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS is a feature-length documentary that take us on an archival road trip through the birth of the Third World project, based on unseen 35mm materials filmed by Stevan Labudović, the cameraman of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. The film plunges us into the media battle that played out during the Algerian War of Independence, where cinema was mobilised as a weapon of political struggle against colonialism. Together with NON-ALIGNED, the film forms a documentary diptych.

DELEGATION / HA’MISHLAHAT 
Poland, Israel, Germany, 2023, Colour, 99 min. 
Director: Asaf Saban 
Cast: Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy

Three Israeli high-school friends take part in class trip visiting Holocaust sites in Poland – their last time together before going into the army. During the trip, shy Frisch, aspiring artist Nitzan, and class heartthrob Ido deal with issues of love, friendship, and politics against the backdrop of concentration camps and memorial sites. This journey will change them forever.

FACING DARKNESS 
France, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2023, 110 min. 
Director: Jean-Gabriel Périot

The Siege of Sarajevo lasted from April 1992 to February 1996. Young men were called up to protect their city; a few of them took along their video cameras to face the violence they witnessed throughout those gruelling 1,425 days. Now, thirty years later, they show us their films and share their wartime filming experiences and thoughts on cinema as a means of survival and resistance.

MAMULA ALL INCLUSIVE - World Premiere
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, 58 min. 
Director: Aleksandar Reljić

Ivo Marković, a surviving former inmate of the Mamula prison camp, opposed the decision of Montenegro's government to build a luxury hotel at the location of a World War II prison camp where countless civilians suffered.

SOUVENIRS OF WAR - World Premiere
Italy, 2023, 75 min. 
Director: Georg Zeller

When does a war come to its end? SOUVENIRS OF WAR takes us on a reflective trip around Bosnia and Herzegovina more than two decades after the country was the site of the first post-World War II armed conflict in Europe, where many sites of genuine sorrow have been turned into tourist attractions. A walk along the fine line between dark tourism and an empathetic culture of remembrance, where some enjoy playing war games on the battlefields of a real conflict, while others struggle with turning their very real traumatic legacy into an opportunity.

THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD / NAJSREЌNIOT ČOVEK NA SVETOT
North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2022, 95 min. 
Director: Teona Strugar Mitevska 
Cast: Jelena Kordić, Adnan Omerović, Labina Mitevska, Ana Kostovska, Ksenija Marinković, Izudin Bajrović, Irma Alimanović, Vedrana Božinović, Mona Muratović, Nikolina Kujača, Siniša Vidović, Kemal Rizvanović

Asja, a forty-year-old single woman, lives in Sarajevo. In order to meet new people, she ends up spending her Saturday at a speed-dating event. She’s matched with Zoran, a forty-three-year-old banker. However, Zoran is looking not for love but for forgiveness.

THE MARCH ON ROME / MARCIA SU ROMA 
Italy, 2022, 98 min. 
Director: Mark Cousins 
Cast: Alba Rohrwacher

Through little-seen archives and his characteristically cinematic analysis, Mark Cousins narrates the ascent of fascism in Italy and its fallout across 1930s Europe. At once essay film and historical document, the film contextualises history through the now, holding up a mirror to a political landscape of a creeping far right and manipulated media.

THE UNCLE / STRIC 
Croatia, Serbia, 2022, 104 min. 
Director: Andrija Mardešić, David Kapac 
Cast: Miki Manojlović, Ivana Roščić, Goran Bogdan, Roko Sikavica, Kaja Šišmanović

Yugoslavia, late 1980s. A family welcomes their beloved uncle, who is coming home for the holidays from Germany. The joyful Christmas lunch is interrupted by a smartphone ringing. It becomes clear it’s not the 1980s, it’s not Christmastime, and it is not just the festive turkey that can be cut with a knife, but the tension as well. 

The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 11th to 18th of August 2023.

Download the press release HERE. 

Ticket sales for the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival in the Main Box Office (Bosanski kulturni centar, Branilaca Sarajeva 24) start on Monday, August 7th.

Tickets for all films in the programmes of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will be on sale.

We reward the first ten customers with ten free tickets to films in different programs and a poster of this year's Festival.

You can find more information about Box Office HERE.

Tickets are available for online sale: through the official website www.sff.ba, on tickets.sff.ba or on the new Sarajevo Film Festival mobile application. By purchasing tickets online with Mastercard you get a 20% discount. Valid for all Mastercard users. Get additional 10% discount on ticket purchases with UniCredit Bank d.d. Mastercard cards.

The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 11th to 18th of August 2023.

In recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Art of Film, Scottish director, screenwriter and producer Lynne Ramsay will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival.

The Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award will be given to Ramsay on August 16th at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema, followed by a gala screening of YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Based on the book by Jonathan Ames, YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, where it won the awards for Best Screenplay (ex-aequo) and  Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix).

Born in Glasgow, Lynne Ramsay is considered one of the most original and exciting voices working in independent cinema today. She has a long-running relationship with the Cannes Film Festival, where she won the Prix de Jury in 1996 for her short graduation film, SMALLS AND DEATH, and for her third short, GASMAN, in 1998. RATCATCHER, her debut feature film, had its premiere in Un Certain Regard, winning a Special Mention.

Her next feature film MORVERN CALLAR premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section, where it was awarded the Award of the Youth for Best Foreign Film.

Ramsay's third feature film WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN was the only British film nominated for the Palme d'Or in Official Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.  Tilda Swinton was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the film, which also went on to receive several BAFTA nominations and won Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards, Best Film at the London Film Festival, and Best Screenplay from the Writers Guild of Great Britain.

Ramsey recently directed the 18th contribution to Miu Miu’s WOMEN’S TALES Series, a sensitive and cathartic short documentary BRIGITTE about French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, which premiered at Venice Film Festival in 2019.

The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from August 11th to 18th, 2023.

Download the press release HERE.

The Kinoscope programme of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will include a total of 18 film screenings of which six belong to Kinoscope section, six to Kinoscope Real section and six to Kinoscope Surreal section.

„Our Kinoscope programme is broken into three different parts, Kinoscope Real, which tackles our reality either through fiction or documentary; Kinoscope, in which we present the arthouse films we deem most impressive from the current year; and Kinoscope Surreal, where we show genre films with distinctive original narrative and stylistic elements“, said Mathilde Henrot and Alessandro Raja, programmers of the Kinoscope programme.

KINOSCOPE 

BAAN 
Portugal, 2023, 101 min. 
Director: Leonor Teles 
Cast: Carolina Miragaia, Meghna Lall

When home stops feeling like home, wandering becomes routine. Time, space, and emotions implode, blurring Lisbon with Bangkok. Past, present, or perhaps future intertwine in a story that begins when L meets K.

DISCO BOY 
France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, 2023, 91 min. 
Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese 
Cast: Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laëtitia Ky, Leon Lučev, Matteo Olivetti, Robert Więckiewicz, Michał Balicki

After a long and difficult journey through Europe, Aleksei arrives in Paris to join the Foreign Legion. Looking for a new life, he is ready for anything in order to obtain the promised passport. On the Niger River delta, Jomo fights the oil multinationals that threaten life in his village. One day, while he is at the head of an armed group, he kidnaps French citizens. To intervene is a command of the Foreign Legion, led by Aleksei. The meeting between these two will have unexpected implications. Aleksei and Jomo’s destinies will overlap, continuing beyond borders, bodies, life, and death.

FEMME 
United Kingdom, 2023, 99 min. 
Director: Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping 
Cast: George MacKay, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

FEMME follows Jules, who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack, destroying his life and career. Some time after that event he encounters Preston, one of his attackers, in a gay sauna. Jules wants revenge.

SAINT OMER 
France, 2022, 122 min. 
Director: Alice Diop 
Cast: Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit, Xavier Maly, Robert Cantarella

The Saint Omer court of law. Young novelist Rama attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. As the trial continues, the words of the accused and witness testimonies will shake Rama’s convictions and call into question our own judgement.

THE VANISHING SOLDIER 
Israel, 2023, 98 min. 
Director: Dani Rosenberg 
Cast: Ido Tako, Mika Reiss, Efrat Ben Zur, Tiki Dayan, Shmulik Cohen

A year from today. Shlomi, an eighteen-year-old soldier, flees the Gaza battlefield and makes his way back to his girlfriend, Shiri. When Shlomi discovers that the military elite is convinced he was kidnapped during the fog of war, he no longer hides from the soldiers he believed were chasing him, but instead from his own identity, which has become a trap. In spite of his parents’ pleas that he return to his unit before it’s too late, Shlomi takes a desperate chance on love, with dramatic consequences.

TOTEM 
Mexico, Denmark, France, 2023, 95 min. 
Director: Lila Avilés 
Cast: Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, Teresita Sánchez, Mateo García Elizondo

TOTEM is a choral film about life. Seven-year-old Sol spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with a surprise party they are throwing for Sol’s father, Tonatiuh. As daylight fades, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold a family together. Sol will come to understand that her world will change dramatically, embracing the essence of letting go and cherishing the breath of life.

KINOSCOPE REAL

APOLONIA, APOLONIA 
Denmark, Poland, France, 2023, 116 min. 
Režija / Director: Lea Glob

Apolonia was born in an underground theatre in Paris, grew up in an artists' community, and studied at one of the most prestigious art academies in Europe. Over the years, Danish filmmaker Lea Glob filmed Apolonia and her struggle to find her place in the art world, grappling with the agonies and joys of womanhood, relationships with others, and her own body and creation. As time passes and a special bond grows between Apolonia and Lea, we witness a film being born and a painter rising to fame. Thirteen years on, the two women continue to reflect on each other’s paths in this mesmerising film about art, love, motherhood, sexuality, representation, and how to succeed in a world dominated by patriarchy, capitalism, and war without losing oneself.

FOUR DAUGHTERS / LES FILLES D'OLFA 
France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, 2023, 107 min. 
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania 
Cast: Hend Sabri, Nour Karoui, Ichraq Matar, Majd Mastoura

The life of Olfa, a Tunisian mother of four daughters, oscillates between light and shadow. One day, her two elder daughters disappear. To fill their absence, director Kaouther Ben Hania calls upon professional actors and sets up an extraordinary film mechanism to unveil the story of Olfa and her daughters. This intimate journey full of hope, rebellion, violence, intergenerational transmission, and sisterhood questions the very foundation of our societies.

MOTHERLAND 
Sweden, Ukraine, Norway, 2023, 92 min. 
Director: Alexander Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka

As young Nikita apprehensively enters his military conscription, Svetlana travels the country looking for justice for her son, who was murdered while in military training. It is 2020, and activists rage in the street against state-led violence rooted in “dedovshchina” – the cruel abuse that supposedly turns boys into soldiers but that is instead the very mechanism of fear and violence the government uses to control its populace.

MY WORST ENEMY / MON PIRE ENNEMI 
France, Switzerland, 2023, 82 min. 
Director: Mehran Tamadon

Mojtaba, Hamzeh, and Zar are among individuals who have been thrown into prison and ideologically interrogated in Iran. In this documentary, the director wants them to interrogate him as agents of the Islamic Republic might. He would like the real torturer in Iran to see himself through the film, as if in a mirror. The subjects' violent experience of putting themselves in the torturer's headspace confronts them with their own limits and the ambivalence of the project itself.

ORLANDO – MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY / ORLANDO, MA BIOGRAPHIE POLITIQUE
France, 2023, 98 min. 
Director: Paul B. Preciado 
Cast: Oscar-Roza Miller, Janis Sahraoui, Liz Christin, Elios Levy, Victor Marzouk

In 1928, Virginia Woolf wrote "Orlando", the first novel in which the main character changes gender in the middle of the story. A century later, trans writer and activist Paul B. Preciado decides to send a film letter to Woolf: her Orlando has come out of her fiction and is living a life she could have never imagined.

THE PERMANENT PICTURE / LA IMATGE PERMANENT 
Spain, France, 2023, 94 min. 
Director: Laura Ferrés 
Cast: María Luengo, Rosario Ortega, Saraida Llamas, Claudia Fimia, Mila Collado, Dolores Martínez

In rural southern Spain, Antonia, a teenage mother, disappears in the middle of the night. Fifty years later and much further north, Carmen, an introverted casting director, is looking for people to share their memories when they arrive in a new city. In her search, she meets Antonia, whose impulsiveness intrudes into Carmen’s solitude. Who said time heals all wounds?

KINOSCOPE SURREAL

ANIMAL KINGDOM / LE RÈGNE ANIMAL 
France, 2023, 130 min. 
Director: Thomas Cailley 
Cast: Romain Duris, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Kircher, Jean Boronat

In a world hit by a wave of mutations that are gradually transforming some humans into animals, François does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by the mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Emile, his sixteen-year-old son, on a quest that will change their lives forever.

INFINITY POOL 
Canada, Hungary, Croatia, 2022, 117 min. 
Director: Brandon Cronenberg 
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman, Jalil Lespert, Thomas Kretschmann, Jeffrey Ricketts, John Ralston, Amanda Brugel, Caroline Boulton

While staying at an isolated island resort, James and Em enjoy a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi, they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.

OMEN / AUGURE 
Belgium, Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, South Africa, 2023, 90 min. 
Director: Baloji 
Cast: Eliane Umuhire, Marc Zinga, Lucie Debay, Yves-Marina Gnahoua

Four people are accused of being witches and sorcerers. Despite their misfortune, they find a way to guide each other away from their socially imposed destinies and into the phantasmagoria of Africa.

PERPETRATOR 
USA, France, 2023, 100 min. 
Director: Jennifer Reeder 
Cast: Kiah McKirnan, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Lowell, Melanie Liburd, Ireon Roach

Jonny Baptiste, a reckless teenager, is sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie. On her eighteenth birthday, Jonny experiences a radical metamorphosis: a family spell called Forevering, which redefines her. When several teen girls go missing at her new school, a mythically feral Jonny goes after the Perpetrator.

SUPERPOSITION 
Denmark, 2023, 105 min. 
Director: Karoline Lyngbye 
Cast: Marie Bach Hansen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Mihlo Olsen

The creative couple Stine and Teit and their young son Nemo leave their urban life in Copenhagen behind in favour of an isolated forest in Sweden, where they hope to find themselves as individuals while documenting their new lifestyle in an ongoing podcast series. Regretfully, they realise there is couple across the lake, who are surprisingly like themselves. Soon, old grudges and selfish desires begin to take over, forcing the family to confront their own egos.

VINCENT MUST DIE / VINCENT DOIT MOURIR
France, Belgium, 2023, 108 min. 
Director: Stéphan Castang 
Cast: Vimala Pons, Karim Leklou

Random strangers have suddenly started attacking Vincent with murderous intent. His life as an unremarkable man is upended and, as things spiral violently out of control, he is forced to flee and change his life completely. 

The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 11th to 18th of August 2023.

Download the press release HERE.