The Sarajevo Film Festival reveals competition line-ups for its 29th edition

by Marko Stojiljković

20/07/2023 - The upcoming edition of the Bosnian festival will showcase 49 competition titles, 22 of which will be world premieres, in four selections

The Sarajevo Film Festival reveals competition line-ups for its 29th edition

Sudabeh Mortezai’s Europa

The Sarajevo Film Festival (taking place from 11 to 18 August) has announced the line-ups for all four of its competitive programmes. Among the 49 titles across four competitions (feature, documentary, shorts and student films), there will be 22 world-, 2 international-, 22 regional- and 3 national premieres. The selection process overseen by Creative Director Izeta Građević has seen 935 films in total, 200 of them fiction features, 235 documentaries and 500 short and student films.

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Out of 11 titles in the Feature Film Competition, selected by the head programmer Elma Tataragić, 8 will actually compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards (€16,000 for the best film, €10,000 for the best director and €2,500 each for best actress and actor), while the selection will also feature two out of competition galas (Una Gujak’s Excursion [+see also:
film review
interview: Una Gunjak
film profile] and Dragan Bjelogrlić’s Guardians of the Formula [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dragan Bjelogrlić
film profile], both coming straight from Locarno) and the world premiere of the television series Rumi directed by Turkish helmer Can Ulkaj. The actual competition will see two world premieres: Sudabeh Mortezai’s Europa [+see also:
film review
interview: Sudabeh Mortezai
film profile] and Christina Ioakeimidi’s Medium [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christina Ioakeimidi
film profile], as well as the international premiere of Tudor Giurgiu’s Libertate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tudor Giurgiu & Cecilia Ste…
film profile]. Five more films — Sofia Exarchou’s Animal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile], Elene Naveriani’s Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elene Naveriani
film profile], Andrei Tănase’s Day of the Tiger [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrei Tănase
film profile], Philip Sotnychenko’s La Palisiada [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philip Sotnychenko
film profile] and Vladimir Perišić’s Lost Country [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladimir Perišić
film profile] — will be having their regional premieres at the festival.

The Documentary Film Competition, selected by Rada Šešić, consists of 20 titles: 13 feature-length, 2 mid-length and 5 short films. Nine of them (7 features and 2 shorts) will be screened as world premieres. The list consists of Eylem Kaftan’s A Day, 365 Hours [+see also:
film review
film profile], Petra Seliškar’s Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Nemanja Vojinović’s Bottlemen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nemanja Vojinović
film profile], Gergő Somogyvári’s Fairy Garden [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Giorgi Parkosadze’s Requiem to the Hot Days of Summer [+see also:
film review
interview: Giorgi Parkosadze
film profile], Kumjana Novakova’s Silence of Reason [+see also:
film review
film profile], and Goran Dević’s What’s to Be Done? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Goran Dević
film profile], among the feature-length works. Meanwhile, the feature film My Muslim Husband [+see also:
film review
film profile], directed by Daniel Ioan Bărnuti and Alexandra Lizeta Bărnuți, will hold the status of the international premiere. Ten more titles, in all three formats, will be having their regional- or national premiere. The films will compete for four awards (Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary, Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Documentary, Human Rights Award and Special Jury Prize), worth €11,500 in total.

The Short Film Competition (selected by Elma Tataragić) consists of 10 titles, while the Student Film Competition (selected by Asja Krsmanović) counts 11. Films from the wider region of Central, East and Southeast Europe are eligible to be selected to compete at Sarajevo.

Here is the full list:

Feature Film Competition

Out of Competition

Excursion [+see also:
film review
interview: Una Gunjak
film profile] – Una Gunjak (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/Serbia/France/Norway/Qatar)
Guardians of the Formula [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dragan Bjelogrlić
film profile] – Dragan Bjelogrlić (Serbia/Slovenia/Montenegro/North Macedonia)
Rumi – Can Ulkay (Turkey) (series)

Documentary Film Competition

A Day, 365 Hours [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Eylem Kaftan (Turkey/Croatia)
Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Petra Seliškar (Slovenia/Croatia/North Macedonia)
Bottlemen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nemanja Vojinović
film profile] – Nemanja Vojinović (Serbia/Slovenia)
Fairy Garden [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Gergő Somogyvári (Hungary/Romania/Croatia)
Fran and Verka, or A Usual Day in an Abandoned Village – Sovran Nrecaj (Kosovo) (short film)
Hug – Miroslav Mandić (Slovenia/Croatia) (short film)
Requiem to the Hot Days of Summer [+see also:
film review
interview: Giorgi Parkosadze
film profile] – Giorgi Parkosadze (Georgia/Greece)
Silence of Reason [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Kumjana Novakova (Bosnia and Herzegovina/North Macedonia)
What’s to Be Done? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Goran Dević
film profile] - Goran Dević (Croatia)
My Muslim Husband [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Daniel Ioan Bărnuti, Alexandra Lizeta Bărnuți (Romania)
De Facto [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Selma Doborac (Austria/Germany)
Deserters – Damir Markovina (Croatia) (medium-length film)
Horror Vacui – Boris Poljak (Croatia) (short film)
Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mila Turajlic
film profile] – Mila Turajlić (Serbia/France/Croatia/Montenegro/Qatar)
One Aloe, One Ficus, One Avocado and Six Dracaenas – Marta Smerechynska (Ukraine/France) (short film)
Self-Portrait Along the Borderline – Anna Dziapshipa (Georgia) (medium-length film)
Valerija – Sara Jurinčić (Croatia) (short film)
Between Revolutions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vlad Petri
film profile] – Vlad Petri (Romania/Croatia/Qatar/Iran)
Hope Hotel Phantom – Bojan Stojčić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (short film)
We Will Not Fade Away [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Alisa Kovalenko (Ukraine/France/Poland/USA)

Short Film Competition

Between the Edges of the Day – Andreea Lacatuş (Romania)
How I Learned to Fold Laundry – Barbara Zemljič (Slovenia)
Let the Dewy Flowers Bloom – Ivan Bakrač (Montenegro)
Pigeons Are Dying, When the City Is on Fire – Stavros Markoulakis (Greece)
Ready – Eirini Vianelli (Greece)
The Ghosts You Draw on My Back – Nikola Stojanović (Serbia)
The Witness – Alen Šimić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
27 – Flóra Ana Buda (Hungary)
My Mother Is a Saint – Syllas Tzoumerkas (Greece)
The Real Truth About a Fight – Andrea Slaviček (Croatia)

Student Film Competition

99,999% - Roberta Serban (Romania)
Falling – Ana Gyimesi (Hungary)
Heartbeat – Gvozden Ilić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Pragma – Bianka Szelestey (Hungary)
From the Corner of My Eyes – Domonkos Erhardt (Hungary)
Glass Fingers – Alina Gheorghe (Romania)
In the Dreams All Jellyfish Are Wet – Marie Luise Lehner (Austria)
I Want to Shatter the Greenhouse – Teona Galgotiu (Romania)
Short Cut Grass – David Gašo (Croatia)
Top View of My Brain as a Crime Scene – Luzia Johow (Austria)
Until I Lie Still – Yana Eresina (Austria)