Sarajevo Film Festival Unveils Lineup Exploring Life and Survival in “Unstable Social Frameworks”

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The 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, revealed its lineup on Wednesday. The festival’s four competitive categories – feature, documentary, short, and student films – will showcase 15 world premieres, 6 international debuts, 28 regional screenings, and 2 local premiers. A total of 50 films will contend for the Heart of Sarajevo awards.

For this year’s event, the festival programming team, headed by creative director Izeta Građević, sifted through 1,036 submissions, including 195 feature fiction films, 291 documentaries, and 550 shorts and student projects.

According to Građević, the competition programs of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival gather filmmakers who, from their unique viewpoints and across various film formats and genres, delve into how we live and endure within intricate and volatile social structures. The core of this year’s competition offerings are films that, defying national boundaries, resonate with the universal tales that shape our existence. In this spectrum – from themes relevant today to those challenging the past – this selection provides a platform for reflection, using cinematic narratives, on the common human needs: meaning, connection, and comprehension – both of ourselves and others.

In a statement, Elma Tataragić, the programmer for the competition program – feature film, noted that the section features nine movies, among which are three world premieres and six regional premieres. She described this as an “impressive and varied portrait of contemporary regional cinema.” Emphasizing a “stimulating blend of daring storytelling, visual ingenuity, and fresh viewpoints that mirror the region’s vibrant cultural heritage,” she pointed out that the competition showcases six debut films that offer “unique perspectives and innovative creative methods on the big screen.

This year, the prestigious Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award will be presented to renowned Italian director Paolo Sorrentino. The Sarajevo Film Festival is scheduled from August 15th through the 22nd.

Check out the full Sarajevo lineup below.

COMPETITION PROGRAM – FEATURE FILM 

Here are the movies to be premiered at the festival:

1. Otter (Vidra), by Srđan Vuletić (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Croatia, Kosovo, 2025, 88 min.) – World premiere
2. Stars of Little Importance (Minden csillag), by Renátó Olasz (Hungary, 2025, 83 min.) – World premiere
3. Yugo Florida, by Vladimir Tagić (Serbia, Bulgaria, France, Croatia, Montenegro, 2025, 112 min.) – World premiere
4. DJ Ahmet, by Georgi M. Unkovski (North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia, 2025, 99 min.) – Regional premiere
5. Fantasy, by Kukla (Slovenia, North Macedonia, 2025, 98 min.) – Regional premiere
6. God Will Not Help (Bog neće pomoći), by Hana Jušić (Croatia, Italy, Romania, Greece, France, Slovenia, 2025, 135 min.) – Regional premiere
7. Sorella di Clausura, by Ivana Mladenović (Romania, Serbia, Italy, Spain, 2025, 103 min.) – Regional premiere
8. White Snail, by Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter (Austria, Germany, 2025, 115 min.) – Regional premiere
9. Wind, Talk to Me (Vetre, Pričaj sa mnom), by Stefan Đorđević (Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 100 min.) – Regional premiere

COMPETITION PROGRAM – DOCUMENTARY FILM

1. I’m excited to catch the world premiere of BOSNIAN KNIGHT(BOSANSKI VITEZ) by Tarik Hodžić from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia.
2. Can’t wait for the world premiere of SUNO (SUNO DIKHLEM) directed by Katalin Barsony in Hungary, Belgium.
3. Looking forward to watching the world premiere of KITE (CHARTAETOS), a short film by Thanos Psichogios from Greece.
4. Can’t wait for the world premiere of STEEL HOTEL SONG by Bojan Stojčić, hailing from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
5. The international premiere of LETTERS (PISMA) by Aysel Küçüksu is something I’m eager to experience.
6. I can’t wait for the international premiere of MY DAD’S LESSONS (LEKCIJE MOG TATE), a film by Dalija Dozet from Croatia.
7. Can’t wait for the international premiere of RED SLIDE (CRVENI TOBOGAN) directed by Nebojša Slijepčević in Croatia.
8. The international premiere of THIRD WORLD (TREĆI SVIJET) by Arsen Oremović is something I’m looking forward to.
9. Can’t wait for the regional premiere of CUBA & ALASKA, directed by Yegor Troyanovsky in Ukraine, France, Belgium.
10. The regional premiere of DIVIA by Dmytro Hreshko is something I’m excited to experience, with co-productions from Ukraine, Poland, The Netherlands, USA.
11. Looking forward to the regional premiere of DREAMERS: PEOPLE OF THE LIGHT (XƏYALPƏRƏSTLƏR: İŞIĞIN UŞAQLARI), directed by Imam Hasanov in Azerbaijan.
12. Can’t wait for the regional premiere of EVERYTIME YOU LEAVE, YOU ARE BORN AGAIN (SVAKI PUT KAD ODEŠ, PONOVO SE RAĐAŠ), directed by Mladen Bundalo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium.
13. Excited to see the regional premiere of I BELIEVE THE PORTRAIT SAVED ME (MUA BESOJ MË SHPËTOJ PORTRETI), directed by Alban Muja in Kosovo, The Netherlands.
14. Can’t wait for the regional premiere of IN HELL WITH IVO, directed by Kristina Nikolova in Bulgaria, USA.
15. Eager to watch the regional premiere of MILITANTROPOS by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgoviy in Ukraine, Austria, France.
16. Looking forward to the regional premiere of OUR TIME WILL COME (UNSERE ZEIT WIRD KOMMEN), directed by Ivette Löcker in Austria.
17. Can’t wait for the regional premiere of THE MEN’S LAND (KACEBIS MITSA) by Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani in Georgia, Hungary.
18. Excited to see the regional premiere of SLET 1988, directed by Marta Popivoda in Serbia, Germany, France.
19. Can’t wait for the B&H premiere of 19-MONTH CONTRACT by Ketevan Vashagashvili, with co-productions from Georgia, Bulgaria, Germany.
20. Eager to watch the B&H premiere of TATA directed by Lina Vdovîi, Radu Ciorniciuc in Romania, Germany, The Netherlands.

NON-COMPETITIVE MOVIE

OUTSIDE COMPETITION FILM, Damjan Kozole (Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 93 min.) – International debut, not competing for awards

or

FILM OUTSIDE THE COMPETITION

OHO FILM, Damjan Kozole (Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 93 min.) – International premiere, not participating in competition

or

FILM NOT IN COMPETITION

OHO FILM, Damjan Kozole (Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 93 min.) – International debut, not eligible for awards in the competition category

COMPETITION PROGRAM – SHORT FILM 

Here are the titles and their respective filmmakers for the short films to be premiered:

1. “Berna’s Eyes” by Ermal Gërdovci (Kosovo*, North Macedonia, 2025, 17 min.) – World premiere
2. “Desert, She” by Ioanna Digenaki (Greece, 2025, 14 min.) – World premiere
3. “Procedure” by Rabia Özmen (Türkiye, 2025, 18 min.) – World premiere
4. “Alișveriș” by Vasile Todinca (Romania, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiere
5. “Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag” by Lili Koss (Bulgaria, 2025, 19 min.) – Regional premiere
6. “Hysterical Fit of Laughter” by Matija Gluščević and Dušan Zorić (Serbia, Croatia, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiere
7. “Index” by Radu Muntean (Romania, 2025, 28 min.) – Regional premiere
8. “The Spectacle” by Bálint Kenyeres (Hungary, France, 2025, 17 min.) – Regional premiere
9. “Upon Sunrise” by Stefan Ivančić (Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiere
10. “Winter in March” by Natalia Mirzoyan (Armenia, Estonia, France, Belgium, 2025, 16 min.) – Regional premiere

COMPETITION PROGRAM – STUDENT FILM

After wrapping up the day’s lessons, I’m thrilled to share some exciting world and international premieres from various filmmakers! Here they are:

1. Marius Papară (Romania, 2025, 18 min.) – World premiere: “After Class”
2. Reza Rasouli (Austria, 2025, 17 min.) – World premiere: “Found & Lost”
3. Effi Rabsilber (Greece, 2025, 16 min.) – World premiere: “Home, A Space Between Us”
4. Jozo Schmuch (Croatia, 2025, 19 min.) – World premiere: “RAHLO”
5. Adem Tutić (Serbia, 2025, 27 min.) – World premiere: “TARIK”
6. Yelyzaveta Toptyhina (Ukraine, 2025, 23 min.) – International premiere: “Curfew (Komendantska Hodyna)”
7. Asya Günen (Türkiye, 2025, 14 min.) – Regional premiere: “Backstroke (Sirtüstü)”
8. Jakob Ladányi Jancsó (Hungary, 2025, 20 min.) – Regional premiere: “Living Stones (Élő Kövek)”
9. Andrei-Tache Codreanu (Romania, 2025, 21 min.) – Regional premiere: “Milk and Cookies (Fursecuri Și Lapte)”
10. David Gašo (Croatia, 2025, 19 min.) – Regional premiere: “Peninsula (Poluotok)”
11. Mirjana Balogh (Hungary, 2025, 10 min.) – Regional premiere: “Wish You Were Ear”

Get ready for an enchanting cinematic journey!

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2025-07-23 11:55