The Sarajevo Film Festival (15-22 August) has announced its opening film: The Pavilion by Bosnia and Herzegovina's Dino Mustafić. Featuring an all-star regional cast, including Rade Šerbedžija, Zijah Sokolović, Miralem Zubčević, Ksenija Pajić, Jasna Diklić, Mirjana Karanović, Ermin Bravo, Alban Ukaj and Meto Jovanovski, The Pavilion is a dark comedy about a group of residents in a retirement home who, after years of abuse and humiliation, decide to stage an armed revolt. Armed with illegal weapons, they take over the home, hold the staff hostage and clash with the authorities.

“There is no greater excitement or privilege for a local filmmaker than to present their film at the Sarajevo Film Festival – and to do so at the opening, in honour of the festival’s 31st edition,” says Mustafić. “The atmosphere of our event is special and unique, and I sincerely hope the audience will enjoy a film that brought together a large regional cast of well-known actors. Both the writers and producers come from across the Balkans. This is a film about the oldest generation, who have chosen to act according to their conscience in today’s world. They rise up in rebellion. And rebellions, by nature, come in all forms. This one is different. Once you see the film, you’ll understand why.”

Best known as a theatre and documentary director, Mustafić returns to fiction filmmaking 20 years after his debut, Remake, which world-premiered at IFFR and went on to become one of the highest-grossing local films ever.

The Pavilion was co-written by two famous journalists and authors: Croatia's Viktor Ivančić and Bosnia's Emir Imamović Pirke. It was lensed by Almir Đikoli and Mustafa Mustafić, and edited by Vladimir Gojun, while the music was composed by Bojan Zulfikarpašić. It was produced by Panglas (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in co-production with Cineplanet (Croatia), Krug Film (North Macedonia), Monte Royal Pictures (Serbia), Natenane Productions (Montenegro) and Realstage (Bosnia and Herzegovina).