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20th Sarajevo Film Festival Final Report

• 246 FILMS FROM 60 COUNTRIES • 9 VENUES • 600 EMPLOYEES • 400 VOLUNTEERS • 3.000 ACCREDITED GUESTS FROM 61 COUNTRIES • OVER 850 ACCREDITED MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES FROM 35 COUNTRIES • OVER 100.000 VISITORS AT ALL THE PROGRAMMES

The Sarajevo Film Festival is an international film festival with a special focus on the region of South East Europe.  

The focus on regional cinematography through the Competition selections for feature, short and documentary film, as well as a focus on the film industry (CineLink), an educational platform for young filmmakers (Talents Sarajevo), and the presence of the international film industry, filmmakers and media representatives, together with over 100 000 visitors, confirms SFF’s status as the leading film festival in the region, recognized by film professionals and the wider public alike. 

In an emerging territory of over 140 million inhabitants, the Sarajevo Film Festival serves as a common platform for the film industry in the entire region, setting standards for the organization of film festivals, as well as for the promotion and presentation of film in South East Europe. Furthermore, the Sarajevo Film Festival shines an international spotlight on films, talent and future film projects from South East Europe. 

The Festival began with screenings of BRIDGES OF SARAJEVO (Aida Begić, Leonardo di Costanzo, Jean-Luc Godard, Kamen Kalev, Isild Le Besco, Sergei Loznitsa, Vincenzo Marra, Ursula Meier, Vladimir Perišić, Cristi Puiu, Marc Recha, Angela Schanelec, Teresa Villaverde) at the National Theatre; LOVE'S A BITCH (Alejandro González Iñárritu) at the HT Eronet Open Air Cinema and OF HORSES AND MEN (Benedikt Erlingsson) at Meeting Point Cinema.

Festival closed with screenings of MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT (Woody Allen) at KSC Skenderija.

During the nine days of the 20th Sarajevo Film Festival, numerous eminent filmmakers presented their work to the public.   

The 21st Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from the 14th to the 22nd of August 2015. 

20th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL IN NUMBERS

• 246 FILMS FROM 60 COUNTRIES
• 9 VENUES
• 600 EMPLOYEES
• 400 VOLUNTEERS
• OVER 3.000 ACCREDITED GUESTS FROM 61 COUNTRIES
• OVER 850 ACCREDITED MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES FROM 35 COUNTRIES
• OVER 100.000 VISITORS AT ALL THE PROGRAMMES

20th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS

OFFICIAL AWARDS

COMPETITION PROGRAMME - FEATURE FILM 

Jury:
President of the Jury: Béla Tarr, Director (Hungary)
Jury members:
Chris Dercon, Director of Tate Modern (UK)
Melissa Leo, Actress (USA)
Daniela Michel, Founding Director of Morelia Film Festival (Mexico)
Rasha Salti, International Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival (Lebanon)
Christoph Terhechte, Head of the Forum section of Berlinale (Germany)
Orsi Tóth, Actress (Hungary) 

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FILM
SONG OF MY MOTHER / KLAMA DAYIKA MIN
Director: Erol Mintaş
Financial Award, in the amount of 16,000 €, is provided by Council of Europe 

The jury very much appreciates the courageous simplicity, the pure cinematic language, the choice to show the daily life in a manner that makes us understand and love the characters. We are delighted that the filmmakers were capable to resist the temptation of mainstream cinema.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
BRIDES/ PATARDZLEBI
Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili (Georgia, France)
Financial Award, in the amount of 10,000 €, is provided by Agnes B.

For its subtle cinematic approach in telling an intricate tale of separation, suffering, hope and despair. Through a quiet, cadenced narration which beautifully focuses on the smallest details we witness love surmount prison walls.

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTRESS
Mari Kitia (BRIDES/Georgia, France)
Financial award in the amount of 2,500 €

For playing a complex role leading the cast with strength and dignity. Through her performance we are able to completely understand her situation. She does this with no need to demonstrate to us, but lives simply in her character's world.

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTOR
Feyyaz Duman (SONG OF MY MOTHER/ Turkey, France, Germany)
Financial award in the amount of 2,500 €

For his stoic portrayal of a Kurdish teacher and writer in Istanbul whose equilibrium is constantly threatened by his superiors, the gentrification of the city he lives in, his girlfriend’s urge to build a family, but most of all the stubbornness of his own mother who is always one step ahead of her son.

COMPETITION PROGRAMME - SHORT FILM

Jury:
Pierre Courtin, Artist (France)
Nicolas Schmerkin, Producer, director, writer, editor (France)
Selma Spahić, Director (B&H)

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FILM
THE CHICKEN / KOKOŠKA
Director: Una Gunjak (Germany, Croatia)
Financial award in the amount of 2,500 €

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
SHELTERS / ZAKLONI
Director: Ivan Salatić (Montenegro)

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
THE EXECUTION / A KIVÉGZÉS
Director: Petra Szőcs (Hungary, Romania)

COMPETITION PROGRAMME - DOCUMENTARY FILM

Jury:
Ananda Scepka, Head of Open Doors, Co-production Lab, Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland)
Srđan Šarenac, Director (B&H)
Stefano Tealdi, Director and producer (Italy)

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM 
NAKED ISLAND / GOLI
Director: Tiha K. Gudac (Croatia)
Financial award, in the amount of 3,000 €, is provided by The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
JUDGEMENT IN HUNGARY / PRESUDA U MAĐARSKOJ
Director: Eszter Hajdu (Mađarska, Njemačka, Portugal)
Financial Award, in the amount of 2,500 €, is provided by AI Jazeera Balkans

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
HAPPILY EVER AFTER / LJUBAVNA ODISEJA
Director: Tatjana Božić (Netherlands, Croatia)

HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
JUDGEMENT IN HUNGARY 
Director: Eszter Hajdu (Hungary, Germany, Portugal)
Award for the best film of the Competition Programme- Documentary Film dealing with the subject of human rights. Award in the amount of 3,000 € is granted by The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. 

HONORARY HEART OF SARAJEVO
Agnès B., Designer and filmmaker (France)
Gael García Bernal, Actor (Mexico)
Danis Tanović, Director (B&H)

KATRIN CARTLIDGE AWARD WINNERS 2014
Abdel Salam Shehadeh, Ashraf Mashharawi and Media Town Pro

CINELINK AWARDS

Jury:
Behrooz Hashemian, Silkroad Production
Čedomir Kolar, ASAP Films  
Georges Goldenstern, Festival Cannes  
Claire Launay, ARTE FRANCE
Annamaria Lodato, ARTE France  
Dorien Van de Pas, Netherlands Film Fund  

EAVE SCOLARSHIP
16 PRODUCER
Ipek Kent

LIVING PICTURES SERVICE CINELINK AWARD
THE BLACK PIN
Ivan Marinović

ARTE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CINELINK AWARD
HILAL, FEZA AND OTHER PLANETS
Kutluğ Ataman, Fabian Gasmia

CNC CINELINK AWARD
PARI
Siamak Etemadi, Konstantinos Kontovrakis

EURIMAGES COPRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD
MY HAPPY FAMILY
Nana Ektimishvilli, Simon Gross

WORK IN PROGRESS AWARDS 

Jury:
Nelleke Driessen, Fortissimo Films
Tolke Palm, The Post Republic
Meinolf Zurhorst ZDF/ARTE  

POSTREPUBLIC AWARD
THE WOUNDED ANGEL
Emir Baigazin, Anna Vigelmi

RESTART AWARD
LIFE
Ines Tanović, Alem Babić

20TH SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL PARTNERS' AWARDS

HT ERONET AUDIENCE AWARD
Best Feature Film: WILD TALES, Damián Szifrón
Best Documentary Film: JUDGEMENT IN HUNGARY, Eszter Hajdu

ASSOCIATION OF FILMMAKERS IN B&H - “IVICA MATIĆ” AWARD
Mustafa Mustafić
for his life contribution to BiH cinema

Danis Tanović
for film AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF AN IRON PICKER

CINEUROPA PRIZE
The prize is awarded by the Cineuropa portal, the site dedicated to the European cinema and film professionals, and is given to a film that besides having indisputable artistic qualities also promotes the idea of European dialogue and integration. The value of this award is 5,000 €.

Jury:
Alberto la Monica (director of Festival del Cinema Europeo Lecce, Italy)
Gonzalo Suarez (Cineuropa Translator and Publisher Assistant, Spain)

THREE WINDOWS AND A HANGING
Director:  Isa Qosja
Kosovo*

CICAE AWARD
The International Confederation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) awards a film from the Competition Programme - Features.

Jury:
Christian Braschi (Director of Cinéma LE ROYAL, France)
Olivier Gicart (Festival International du Film d'Amour de Mons, Belgium)
Erika Borsos (Head of Film Programme, Budapest Film Zrt., Hungary)

EDN TALENT GRANT
EDN Talent Grant has been created as co-operation between the Sarajevo Film Festival and the European Documentary Network with the purpose of supporting promising new documentary filmmakers from the region.

Jury:
Ananda Scepka, Head of Open Doors, Co-production Lab, Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland)
Srđan Šarenac, Director (B&H)
Stefano Tealdi, Director and producer (Italy)

THE FOREST
Director: Siniša Dragin
Romania, Serbia

SARAJEVO SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR THE EFA AWARD
The winner receives a nomination for the European Film Academy (EFA) Best Film Award. 

Jury:
Alessandro Marcionni (Locarno Film Festival, Head of the Pardi di Domani section )
Urszula Śniegowska (Artistic director of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw)
Zora Stančič (Visual Artist)

BH FILM STUDENT PROGRAMME AWARD 
Jury: Nermin Hamzagić (Director), Amira Lekić (Producer) and Dario Đuraković (Editor)

Best Film:
REDEMPTION 
Director: Mirna Dizdarević (SFA)
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Special Jury Award: 
THE WALL 
Director: Zulfikar Filandra (ASU)
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Special Jury Mention: 
SOME OF US 
Director: Anja Kavić (AUBL)
Bosnia and Herzegovina

DOCU ROUGH CUT BOUTIQUE PROJECT AWARDS

Work in Progress
THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING
Mila Turajlić

FIFDH Geneva Award 2.000 EUR 
THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING 
Mila Turajlić

HBO Adria Award 2.000 EUR
SOME DAY
Monica Lazurean Gorgan

IDFA Award 
THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING
Mila Turajlić 

The winner will be fully invited to visit IDFA and its markets, where a meeting with film professionals will be arranged to discuss the project that participated in Sarajevo.

Cat&Docs Award 2.000EUR 
SOME DAY
Monica Lazurean Gorgan

HRT Croatian Radio Television 2.000 EUR 
A TWO WAY MIRROR 
Katarina Zrinka Matijević Veličan 

* This label does not prejudge the status of Kosovo and is in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the opinion of the ICJ on Kosovo's declaration of independence.

INDUSTRY

It is the business of film that is the focus of the second half of the Festival. From the 18th of August the international film industry hits the town for six days of extensive networking and professional diverse activities. 

CineLink, our co-production market presented  most promising feature projects in development and financing stage. The selection has traditionally been focused on Southeast Europe but is since a few years also open for projects from the Caucasus region. In addition, three projects were presented in partnership with the Doha Film Institute, IMCINE and The Arab Fund for Arts & Culture.

CineLink Work in Progress continuously showcases future success stories on the festival circuit. We have seven exciting titles in post production that have been shown to specially invited international decision-makers. This section is also open to projects from the North African and Middle Eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

CineLink also offered an awards fund of over 160.000 Euros in cash and services. 

CineLink PARTNER COUNTRY
This year's Partner Country was the UK, and a delegation of around 20 British producers, sales agents, distributors, agents and festival representatives were present at CineLink for four intensive days of meeting regional film makers and promoting the possibilities of cooperation with the UK. 

Several of our British guests also were speaking at the Regional Forum/Creative Europe MEDIA.

The UK focus is arranged in collaboration with the British Film Institute and the British Council with its Connecting Film initiative. 

About the Partner Country Initiative
The CineLink Partner Country Initiative has been running for more than a decade now, systematically strengthening the working relationship between the Southeast European film industry and its international counterparts. It has led to many co-productions and an enhanced circulation of film works between the participating countries.

Previous partner countries: Germany (2013), France (2012), Switzerland (2011),
Israel (2010), Sweden (2009), Ireland
(2008), Cine Regio (2007), The Netherlands (2006), Germany (2005), Austria (2004).

CineLink Selection 2014

HOTEL ZAGORJE
Director: Aldo TARDOZZI
Producer: Barbara JUKOPILA, Damir IBRAHIMOVIĆ
Production company: PRODUKCIJA ZIVA
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

THE DAYBREAK
Director: Gentian KOÇI
Producer: Gentian KOÇI
Production company: ARTALB FILMS
Albania

NANOOK
Director: Milko LAZAROV
Producer: Veselka KIRYAKOVA
Production company: RED CARPET
Bulgaria

THE ESCAPE
Director: Kenan KAVUT
Producer: Yesim USTAOUGLU
Production company: USTAOGLU FILMS
Turkey

THE GULF
Director: Emre YEKSAN
Producer: Annamaria ASLANOĞLU
Production company: ISTOS FILM
Turkey

GIANT
Director: Dimitris PAPANASTASIOU
Producer: Alexandra BOUSSIOU
Production company: WRONG MEN
Greece

CineLink Plus selection 2014 

16
Director: Melisa ONEL
Producer: Melisa ONEL
Prodution company: MELISA FATMA ONEL TECIMEN
Turkey

HILAL, FEZA AND OTHER PLANETS
Director: Kutluğ ATAMAN
Producer: Kutluğ ATAMAN
Production company: THE INSTITUTE FOR THE READJUSTMENT OF CLOCKS
Turkey

THE BLACK PIN
Director: Ivan MARINOVIĆ
Producer: Jelena MISELJIĆ
Production company: ADRIATIC WESTERN
Montenegro

MY HAPPY FAMILY
Director: Nana EKVTIMISHVILLI, Simon GROSS
Producer: Simon GROSS
Production company: POLARE FILM
Georgia

PARI
Director: Siamak ETEMADI
Producer: Konstantions KONTOVRAKIS
Production company: HERETIC CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS
Greece

IN BETWEEN
Director:  Bogdan MUSTATA
Producer: Marcian LAZAR
Production company: STRADA FILM
Romania

BORDERS
Director: Ionut PITURESCU
Producer: Patricia DRATI RØNDE
Production company: ANTHROPOESIS FILMS and CPH:LAB
Romania, Denmark

LEMONADE
Director: Ioana URICARU
Producer: Cristian MUNGIU
Production company: INTRAREA FILM
Romania

Guest projects

HOUSE WITHOUT ROOF
Director; Soleen Yusef
Producer: Mehmet Aktaş, Jana Raschke
Production company: Mîtosfilm
Kurdistan Regional Government Iraq, Germany
Project presented in collaboration with Doha Film Institute

OPERATION: BABY  
Director: José Luis Valle
Producer: José Luis Valle
Production company: Fogata Audiovisual
Mexico
Project presented in collaboration with IMCINE 

TO ALL NAKED MEN
Director: Bassam Chekhes
Producer: Rami Nihawi  
Production company: Bassam Chekhe Production
Syria, The Netherlands
Project presented in collaboration with The Arab Fund for Arts & Culture 

Regional Forum
20 – 22 August 2014

The Regional Forum is Sarajevo Film Festival's annual conference on current issues for the film industry in Southeast Europe, bringing together over 100 key professionals from 15 countries, from both the private and public sectors. 

For its 6th edition, the Forum was arranged in collaboration with Creative Europe and its MEDIA strand, and it presented three days of debate on the future in audience development, film education and co-production.

Topics:
- International coproduction – spreading the European coproduction model overseas
- Reaching the audience
- Film literacy – a strategy for audience development

Speakers included: 
Marian Cerrilla Noriega, IMCINE;
Isabel Davis, BFI;
Čedomir Kolar, ASAP Films;
Sanja Ravlić, HAVC;
Katriel Schory, Israel Film Fund;
Jovan Marjanović, Sarajevo Film Festival;
Arnaud Dupont, Headway International;
Karin Haager, Flimmit;
Dragoslav Zachariev, EuroVod;
Madeleine Probst, Europa cinemas, Watershed; 
Ena Đozo, Sarajevo Film Festival;
Jasmin Duraković, DEPO Zona;
Xavier Lardoux, Unifrance;
Matteo Zacchetti, European Commission;
Ian Wall, The Film Space;
Madeleine Probst, Europa cinemas, Watershed;
Asja Makarević, Talents Sarajevo, Sarajevo Film Festival.

Industry Terrace
The Industry Terrace serves as the perfect business, meeting and social space for industry guests during the festival. It's also designed to enhance circulation and business with rights and licenses of the films presented at the festival, as well as other catalogue titles.

This year film professionals had the opportunity to meet more than one hundred key players: sales and distribution companies, TV and VOD buyers, theatrical exhibitors, as well as service and rental offering companies.

Docu Rough Cut Boutique 
On the documentary side, Docu Rough Cut Boutique selected five projects from the Region providing them coaching, expert advice and access to decision-makers that can have crucial influence on moving the projects forward in their final stage. During six intensive group sessions and dozen individual ones, the selected teams and mentors focus on fine tuning the rough cuts.

8th TALENTS SARAJEVO
Talents Sarajevo, launched in cooperation with the Berlin International Film Festival and the Berlinale Talents, aims to connect emerging film professionals from Southeast Europe and Southern Caucasus with established film professionals, to inform them and bring them closer to the regional and international film industry. During the six-day programme, emerging film professionals are provided with the opportunity to exchange their viewpoints and ideas.

The 8th Talents Sarajevo took place from August 16-21, 2014.

70 emerging actors, directors, film critics, producers, scriptwriters and cinematographers took part in the diverse programme of lectures, workshops, presentations, discussions along the lines of the theme.

MINIMARKET 
As for shorts, Minimarket was continue to enhance their circulation internationally and bring filmmakers together with prominent European short film festival programmers and professionals active in sales and distribution of short films.

OTHER PROGRAMMES 

IN FOCUS
Seven regional films that achieved notable success at film festivals worldwide in the past year were shown as part of the In Focus programme. 

TRIBUTE TO…
The Sarajevo Film Festival was pleased to present a retrospective of work by one of the most significant contemporary directors, Michael Winterbottom, as part of the Tribute to… programme.  

KINOSCOPE
Kinoscope comprises feature and documentary films and the selection included 21 works from all over the world. The programme focuses on exceptional films that stand out because of their mise-en-scène and includes already established filmmakers as well as first and second time filmmakers.  

OPEN AIR 
This year, the Open Air cinema offered a first-class programme to the satisfaction of even the most demanding film fans. Each night, approximately 3000 viewers could enjoy the unforgettable experience of watching a film under the stars on one of the biggest screens in the region. 

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME 
Thirteen feature and animated films were screened as part of the Sarajevo Film Festival’s Children’s Programme. 

TEENARENA
For the tenht consecutive year, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s TeenArena programme showcased films intended for teenagers. The public had the opportunity to enjoy eleven films. 

SFF PARTNER PRESENTS (DOHA FILM INSTITUTE)
Doha Film Institute (DFI) is an independent, not-for-profit cultural organisation established in 2010. It organically supports the growth of the local film community by enhancing industry knowledge, cultivating film appreciation and contributing to the development of sustainable creative industries in Qatar.

DFI’s platforms include funding and production of local, regional and international films, educational programmes, film screenings, the Ajyal Film Festival for the Young and the Qumra Film Festival.

With culture, community, education and entertainment at its foundation, DFI serves as an all-encompassing film hub in Doha, as well as a resource for the region and the rest of the world.

DFI is committed to supporting Qatar’s 2030 vision for the development of a knowledge-based economy.

SFF GUESTS PRESENTS
In the scope of this programme we presented 23 films from 7 film institutions or festivals. 

OPERATION KINO
Five films were screened as part of Operation Kino. 

LAŠKO SUMMER NIGHTS
Eight films were screened in the Laško Summer Nights programme. 

EUROPEAN SHORTS
The 20th festival edition brought some exciting novelties to the short film programme. This year we introduced a new and independent short film programme entitled EUROPEAN SHORTS.  

The editorial line of EUROPEAN SHORTS remained close to the beaten path established by New Currents section, presenting filmmakers taking on various creative challenges while exploring the potential of the short film form.

CARTE BLANCHE - MORELIA
The Morelia International Film Festival is a unique meeting point in Mexico for the cinematographic community, the people of Michoacán and international filmmakers. The Festival’s mission is to promote new talents in Mexican cinema, and some of the most important contemporary Mexicans filmmakers have started their careers with short films presented in Morelia.

CARTE BLANCHE - TAMPERE
The Tampere Film Festival is a short film festival held every March in the Finnish town of Tampere. It is accredited by the film producers' society FIAPF, and together with the short film festivals in Oberhausen and Clermont-Ferrand, it is among the most important European short film festivals.

CINÉFONDATION - CANNES FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
We’re also delighted to announce the new collaboration with Cinéfondation - Cannes Film Festival.  Sarajevo's audience had an exclusive opportunity to see firsthand a selection of short and medium length films from some of the most promising talents at the beginning of their professional careers.

EFA SHORT FILM NOMINEES 2013
Within the framework of our partnership with the European Film Academy, we  presented a selection of 2013 EFA Short Film Nominees including the winning title DEATH OF A SHADOW, a World War I Belgian drama.

AVANT PREMIERE
Four films were screened in the scope of this programme. 

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Special screenings brought us 4 films.

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
For the sixth consecutive year, the Sarajevo Film Festival hosted Human Rights Day, organized in cooperation with the Embassy of Switzerland and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Human Rights Day was held on Monday, 18 August 2014. 

As part of the activities marking the Human Rights Day, the Sarajevo Film Festival will organized a special programme, including a panel at the Multiplex Cinema City and two film screenings.

The films  presented on this special day were RETURN TO HOMS directed by Talal Derki, and CRIME HUNTERS directed by Juan José Lozano and Nicolas Wadimoff, which was screened in cooperation with the Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights. Both films address human rights issues in a specific and current way.

The topic for this year’s Human Rights Panel was “Point of No Return?” and the moderator of the panel was Sabina Ćudić, political scientist. The panelists were representatives of the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH and the Council of Europe, and actor Gael García Bernal, honorary guest of the Sarajevo Film Festival.

The films and topics chosen each year for marking the Human Rights Day provide an opportunity for panel participants, the audience and the media to discuss pressing problems currently faced by individuals or communities in the world.

B&H FILM
The BH Film Program is organized in cooperation with the Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It presents Bosnian-Herzegovinian filmmakers and their films completed in the past twelve months. This year BH Film programme presented 64 films: 9 features, 2 omnibus, 2 experimental films, 20 documentaries, 8 short, and 23 student films.