In co-operation with leading distribution and production companies in the region, the Sarajevo Film Festival, which will be held in August 15-23, is launching Avant Premiere with the purpose of setting up a strong market platform for films from the Balkan area and the hope that, in a couple of years time, it will become a meeting place for all film professionals in the region, and the optimal place for launching promotional activities for films with commercial box office potential in the territory, scheduled to open in the current fall/winter season. By doing so, the SFF aims at holding a balance between the distribution of regional films and Hollywood and European titles among exhibitors, media and audience.

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Regional film companies have met the Avant Premiere concept with great enthusiasm. The activity will be divided in two strands - Avant Premiere Trailers, intended for film professionals, and Avant Premiere, targeted at a larger audience. 

This first year, Avant Premiere Trailers will feature 19 new regional films (7 from Serbia, 4 from Croatia, 1 from Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina and 4 regional co-productions) that will be presented to decision-makers of the largest exhibition chains and around 30 independent exhibitors from Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and FYR Macedonia. Guests attending include representatives of Cinestar and Cineplexx (which together control more than 250 cinemas in these 5 countries) as well as major distributors Blitz film&video, Continental Film, MegaCom Film and Taramount Film, and regional production companies. 

Among the films presented are some contenders at this year's official SFF selection such as Cure – The Life of Another [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrea Staka
scheda film], Love Island [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], Bridges of Sarajevo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], and Nine Positions of Loneliness.

Meanwhile, the second strand of Avant Premiere will see regional and international film professionals, journalists and film festival programmers meet the audience at the gala premieres of three films from the region which will go into wider distribution in the next couple of months: Karlovy Vary’s East of the West contenders Monument to Michael Jackson [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Darko Lungulov
scheda film], the second feature by Darko Lungulov after Here and There [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], and Ivan Ikić‘s social drama Barbarians [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ivan Ikic
scheda film], and finally Kristijan Milić‘s Number 55 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], winner of 8 Pulska Arena awards at the last Pula Film Festival.