The Sarajevo Film Festival is set to operate Aug. 14-21 under the direction of Jovan Marjanović, who has been involved with the event since age 19 and is now leading his fifth edition as sole director. The festival, which originated in 1995 during the Bosnian War and siege, maintains its founding ethos of using cinema to connect communities and promote cultural dialogue.
British actress Emily Watson will preside over the festival’s jury this year, alongside director Matthijs Wouter Knol, producer Athina Rachel Tsangari, filmmaker Igor Bezinović, and actress Sara Klimoska. The festival is also honoring four individuals with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award: Watson, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, Mexican actor Diego Luna, and American actor Woody Harrelson. According to Marjanović, these selections reflect the recipients’ contributions to cinema and shared values rather than necessarily being tied to Sarajevo specifically.
The programming combines regional talent with international cinema. Competition features include works from Zvonimir Jurić, Urša Menart, Kosara Mitić, and Dina Duma, while the opening film is Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland with Sandra Hüller. The festival will close with a newly restored 4K version of the Oscar-winning Bosnian film No Man’s Land, presented for the first time in 25 years, alongside a screening of Welcome to Sarajevo, shot in 1996.
Marjanović emphasized that the festival’s geographic focus on Balkan cinema distinguishes it within the European festival circuit. The festival operates as a nonprofit citizen association and has developed the CineLink Industry Days program over roughly 25 years, creating an ecosystem that supports filmmaking from the region. The Open Air Premieres section, introduced last year, will expand this year with a new Audience Award offering marketing support through Cineplexx.
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