As the seventh edition of the Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Festival (AJB DOC) started to unspool in Sarajevo (13-17 September), we sat down with Edhem Fočo, the festival director and one of the founders of the Al Jazeera Balkans news service. We talked about this year's edition, which bears the motto "JUSTICE?" and focuses on Palestine, as well as about the programme and the growing AJD Industry Days section, which is taking place for the third time.

Cineuropa: Last year, AJB DOC bore the motto “RIGHT(S)”; this year, it's "JUSTICE?" These are some of the key overarching topics in the documentary field. Why did you opt for this one?
Edhem Fočo: We believe that these topics should be fundamental for documentary films these days, but I am not sure that this is the case. Countries that have more funds for the production of films do not necessarily see these topics as that important, unfortunately. For us, it goes very much hand in hand with the raison d'être of AJB DOC and Al Jazeera's existence. Since we are in the field all the time, we hear the people, and we feel their pulse. When we are witnessing a horrendous genocide live every day, one that is being condoned by many in the developed world that preach high moral values to the rest of us, it is impossible not to ask, “Is there any justice? For whom? And for what?”

You have also announced that AJB DOC is focusing on Palestine this year, a burning and delicate issue that many big festivals haven't really adopted a position towards. What is your approach? 
You may recall protests and “controversies” during IDFA last year. It was painful. After that, festival after festival, we have witnessed a deafening silence from the organisers, and from the avant-garde of artists priding themselves on being moral and intellectual elites, acting deaf and blind. It was up to individual artists to stage protests by pulling their films, wearing some Palestinian paraphernalia or mentioning genocide in their appearances. We do not subscribe to that. We also have sponsors, big international corporations or international organisations. None of them pulled out because of the topic or the films selected. You should stand for what you believe is right, not minding the consequences, as there may be none. It seems that in the case of many festivals, it was a kind of self-censorship, or else these festivals really believe that the genocide should continue unabated. Either way, it is sad and repulsive.

Tell us a bit about this year's programme in terms of the geographical and thematic spread.
Palestine definitely dominates this year's programme, with some additional areas from the wider Middle East, such as Iran and Libya. Bosnia and the Balkans are also strongly present, as this is almost imperative for a festival such as ours. But we have films from Japan, Poland, Mongolia, Brazil, Norway [Scandinavian films have been regulars at AJB DOC], and a few films from Georgia. Topics vary – from very political in Palestinian, Libyan, Mongolian and Polish films to those about growing up, or historical, educational and social issues... It very much reflects the content that Al Jazeera would show on screen – or maybe a little wider than that.

Your AJD Industry Days section has quickly gained prominence and visibility. What would you underline about this year's edition? 
We are very happy with the progress that AJD Industry Days has made. The Al Jazeera Documentary Channel is a major player in the documentary film industry, and it is spearheading our event. It already attracts big names in this industry from Japan to Europe, and from the Middle East to the USA and Canada. We have received hundreds of brilliant projects, and we still stick to areas that are sometimes a bit overlooked – the wider Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, and the Middle East and North Africa. We are proud that this year, we have interesting projects from regions such as Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, or from Somalia and Sudan, for example. It is also important to mention that there are a lot of projects that are being pitched for the first time at AJD Industry Days. We are very proud of that.