10/09/2026 - Georgi M Unkovski's film tops the list, closely followed by Yugo Florida, God Will Not Help, Mother and Wind, Talk to Me

The Film and TV Academy of the Adriatic Region, founded by the members of the Adriatic Region Festival Network (the Sarajevo Film Festival, Auteur Film Festival Belgrade and Zagreb Film Festival), has announced the nominees for this year's Adriatic Film and TV Awards (AFA). Through these prizes, the academy honours the most significant film and TV series achievements from the region.

Georgi M Unkovski’s Sundance-awarded hit DJ Ahmet leads the list with seven nominations, closely followed by Vladimir Tagić’s Sarajevo-awarded Yugo Florida with six and, with five, Hana Jušić’s Locarno competition entry God Will Not Help, Teona Strugar Mitevska’s Venice Orizzonti title Mother, and Stefan Đorđević’s Heart of Sarajevo winner and IFFR Tiger Competition entry Wind, Talk to Me.

Producers and rights holders of fiction and documentary films, as well as TV series, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia were eligible to submit entries for consideration for the AFA Awards. The nominees were decided by an electronic vote by more than 800 members of the academy, film and television professionals from various countries and professions within the film industry. They will now also decide on the winners of the AFA Awards.

The second edition of the AFA Awards, taking place from 23-25 October in Porto Montenegro, Tivat, Montenegro, will bring together film and television creators and professionals from across the region. The opening of the second edition of the Adriatic Film and TV Awards will be held at the Kotor-Lovćen cable car, while a three-day programme in Porto Montenegro will include the gala ceremony, where ten prizes will be awarded to film and television works and their creators. The trophies for the best works and individuals will be presented at a ceremony on Saturday 24 October, in Porto Montenegro.

This year, an AFA Outstanding Box Office Achievement Award will be presented for the first time.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Film
Wind, Talk to Me - Stefan Đorđević (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia)
God Will Not Help - Hana Jušić (Croatia/Italy/Romania/Greece/France/Slovenia)
Mother - Teona Strugar Mitevska (Belgium/North Macedonia/Denmark/Sweden/Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Yugo Florida - Vladimir Tagić (Serbia/Bulgaria/Croatia/Montenegro)
DJ Ahmet - Georgi M Unkovski (North Macedonia/Czech Republic/Serbia/Croatia)

Best Debut Film
Katarina Bogdanović (Kukla) – Fantasy (Slovenia/North Macedonia)
Stefan Đorđević – Wind, Talk to Me
Ester Ivakič – Ida Who Sang So Badly Even the Dead Rose Up and Joined Her in Song (Slovenia/Croatia)
Vladimir Tagić – Yugo Florida
Georgi M Unkovski – DJ Ahmet

Best Director
Stefan Đorđević – Wind, Talk to Me
Hana Jušić – God Will Not Help
Teona Strugar Mitevska – Mother
Vladimir Tagić – Yugo Florida
Georgi M Unkovski – DJ Ahmet

Best Lead Actress
Jasna Diklić – The Pavilion (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/North Macedonia/Serbia/Montenegro)
Manuela Martelli – God Will Not Help
Noomi Rapace – Mother
Hana Selimović – Yugo Florida
Dora Akan Zlatanova – DJ Ahmet

Best Lead Actor
Stefan Đorđević – Wind, Talk to Me
Filip Đurić – How Come It's All Green Out Here? (Serbia/Croatia/Bulgaria)
Arif Jakup – DJ Ahmet
Andrija Kuzmanović – Yugo Florida
Nikola Ristanovski – Mother

Best Screenplay
Stefan Đorđević – Wind, Talk to Me
Hana Jušić – God Will Not Help
Nikola Ležaić – How Come It's All Green Out Here?
Goce Smilevski, Elma Tataragić and Teona Strugar Mitevska – Mother
Georgi M Unkovski – DJ Ahmet

Best TV Series
Black Sun (Serbia)
Komar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Shame (Croatia)
The Monster Behind The Iron Curtain (Slovenia)
The Hollow (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Best Lead Actress in a TV Series
Lejla Hakalović – Komar
Jana Jakopović – Shame
Nina Janković – Black Sun
Nataša Ninković – Black Sun
Snežana Vidović – The Hollow

Best Lead Actor in a TV Series
Dragan Bjelogrlić – Black Sun
Boris Ler – The Hollow
Igor Skvarica – Komar
Borna Šimunek – Shame
Feđa Štukan – The Hollow

Rising Star
Marko Grabež – The Wedding (Croatia/Serbia)
Arif Jakup – DJ Ahmet
Jana Milosavljević – Yugo Florida
Lamija Salihović – Komar, The Hollow
Ana Marija Veselčić – God Will Not Help