A total of 51 films are in contention for the Heart of Sarajevo Awards at the Bosnian Film Festival.
The lineup, released on Thursday, spans across four competition selections: narrative feature film, feature and short documentary film, narrative short film and student short film. From these, 21 are to have their world premiere at the August event. One will screen out of competition.
“At a time when films are more accessible than ever, the value of a film festival lies not in making films available, but in returning them to public life,” said Izeta Građević, creative director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, whose selection team saw 1,215 films ahead of the fest.
“Over more than three decades, the Sarajevo Film Festival has earned the trust of an audience willing to embrace films it might never have chosen on its own. This is an audience that does not come to the cinema seeking confirmation of its own taste, but for the excitement of discovering a different perspective on the world,” she continued. “It is for this audience that we selected this year’s programs. They reflect the vitality and diversity of contemporary Southeast European cinema. Each film speaks in its own distinct cinematic voice, yet they all share a search for a different perspective on reality.”
