The 30th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival handed out its awards at a ceremony that took place at the National Theatre on Friday evening. At a separate ceremony earlier that day, partner awards were also given out to their respective recipients. The central Fiction Feature Competition was dominated by Emanuel Pârvu’s Cannes competition-premiered title Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Emanuel Pârvu
scheda film], which was deemed Best Film (and was awarded a €16,000 prize donated by the Tourism Association of the Canton of Sarajevo) by the jury consisting of filmmakers Paul Schrader, Juho Kuosmanen and Una Gunjak, as well as actors Noomi Rapace and Sebastian Cavazza. On top of that, Pârvu’s film was also granted the Cineuropa Award.

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Director went to Yorgos Zois for Arcadia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Yorgos Zois
scheda film]. In the acting department, Anab Ahmed Ibrahim took home the Best Actress Award for her role in Mo Harawe’s The Village Next to Paradise [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], while Doru Bem snagged the Best Actor Award for his turn in Holy Week [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
scheda film] by Andrei Cohn.

In the Documentary Competition, the jury (Mandy Chang, Marek Hovorka and Wang Xiaoshuai) deemed Olga Chernykh’s A Picture to Remember [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anna Rubi
scheda film] won the Human Rights Award, while Daphné Hérétakis’s What We Ask of the Statue Is That It Doesn’t Move got the Special Jury Award.

In the Shorts Competition, Absent Cem Demirer won the Heart of Sarajevo, while the Special Mention went to Tako Tsubo, directed by Eva Pedroza and Fanny Sorgo. Tomek Popakul and Kasumi Ozeki’s Winter won the European Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards. Lastly, The Smell of Fresh Paint, directed by Nađa Petrović, triumphed in the Student Film Competition.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Fiction Feature Competition

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film
Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emanuel Pârvu
scheda film] – Emanuel Pârvu (Romania)

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Director
Yorgos Zois – Arcadia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Yorgos Zois
scheda film] (Greece/Bulgaria/USA)

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress
Anab Ahmed Ibrahim – The Village Next to Paradise [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] (Austria/Germany/France/Somalia)

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor
Doru Bem – Holy Week [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
scheda film] (Romania/Switzerland)

Documentary Competition

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film
A Picture to Remember [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] – Olga Chernykh (Ukraine/France/Germany)

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Documentary Film
Like a Sick Yellow – Norika Sefa (Kosovo)

Human Rights Award
Your Life Without Me [+leggi anche:
intervista: Anna Rubi
scheda film] – Anna Rubi (Hungary/Switzerland)

Special Jury Award
What We Ask of the Statue Is That It Doesn’t Move – Daphné Hérétakis (Greece/France)

Short Film Competition

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Film
Absent – Cem Demirer (Turkey)
Special Mention
Tako Tsubo – Eva Pedroza, Fanny Sorgo (Austria/Germany)

Student Film Competition

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Student Film
The Smell of Fresh Paint – Nađa Petrović (Serbia)

National Student Film Competition

Best Student Film
Good Luck, Sarah! - Isidora Ratković (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Special Jury Award
We’ll Buy the Fish Tomorrow – Sara Ristić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Special Jury Mention
Zanzibar 4K Colorized – Lea Tošić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Other awards

Honorary Hearts of Sarajevo
Philippe Bober
Christof Papousek
Alexander Payne
Meg Ryan
Paul Schrader (recipient in 2018)
Elia Suleiman
John Turturro

Cineuropa Award
Three Kilometres to the End of the World – Emanuel Pârvu

CICAE Award
Family Therapy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sonja Prosenc
scheda film] – Sonja Prosenc (Slovenia/Italy/Croatia/Norway/Serbia)

Special Environmental Awareness Award
The Sky Above Zenica [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Zlatko Pranjić, Nanna Frank Møller (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Denmark)

Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality
Cent’anni [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Maja Doroteja Prelog (Slovenia/Italy/Poland/Serbia/Austria)

European Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards
Winter – Tomek Popakul, Kasumi Ozeki (Poland)

Ivica Matić Award for Best Film from Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2023
Excursion [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Una Gunjak
scheda film] – Una Gunjak (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/Serbia/Norway/France)

Ivica Matić Award for Overall Contribution to the Cinema of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Šemsudin Gegić