Introducing the Open Air Programme of the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival

Some of the films in this programme will be presented by prominent actors, directors, and screenwriters: the honorary guest of the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival, Cord Jefferson, as well as the recipients of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo, Meg Ryan, John Turturro, and Alexander Payne, who will also hold masterclasses at the Festival.Masterclasses will be a special opportunity to meet the audience and gain insight into key aspects of their careers, and admission is free.

 

 

United States, 2023, 117 min.

Director: Cord Jefferson

Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown

 

Based on "Erasure," the novel by Percival Everett, AMERICAN FICTION is Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts the contemporary obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment making profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own—a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, 2024, 109 min.

Director: Faruk Sokolović

Cast: Belma Salkunić-Bektešević, Faruk Sokolović, Dragan Bjelogrlić, Rijad Gvozden, Bojana Gregorić-Vejzović, Karla Matošić-Gvozden, Jasna Diklić, Josip Stapić

 

A man, old, decrepit, terrified, in a house with his friend Goran. Outside he wanders aimlessly, seeing enemies in both neighbours and foreigners. Ena, a journalist, arrives in the village, to film a story on heritage guardians. Through her camera lens she discovers a strange Man, secretly watching. His „hiding place“ has been exposed. Ilness and reality clash. In the house a threat appears, a wartime lover, with the message that the devil has come to collect his due. A stormy night and fateful encounters. To run or to fight and face it all? And return?

 

United States, 1991, 116 min.

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney, Jon Polito

 

Barton Fink, a young playwright in 1941 New York City, enjoys overnight success with a drama celebrating the common man. Hollywood takes notice and enlists him to write wrestling pictures for Wallace Beery. BARTON FINK chronicles his struggle with writer’s block, with Hollywood, and with the neighbour in his hotel who shows him something about the darker side of wrestling, and of life.

 

Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2023, 91 min.

Director: Silvio Mirošničenko

 

Grandpa Guru presents in an eclectic documentary style the continuity of the work of the band Kultur Shock with special emphasis on the interesting life, music and art of their singer and frontman Srđan Gino Jevđević. We follow Gino's spiritual journey in search of his own identity and place in the world, after leaving Sarajevo during the war and arriving in Seattle, USA, where he meets Krist Novoselic from the Nirvana and Jello Biafra from the punk band Dead Kennedys, who persuade him to continue playing music. Gino is haunted by the question of belonging and the feeling of being torn between life in America, Sarajevo and his mother and family.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia, 2024, Colour, 85 min.

Director: Srđan Vuletić

Cast: Edin Avdagić, Dino Sarija, Dina Mušanović, Rijad Gvozden, Igor Skvarica, Adnan Omerović, Filip Radovanović, Faruk Hajdarević, Mirza Dervišić, Pavle Marković, Aneta Grabovac, Vanja Matović, Davor Bojanić, Aleš Kranjec, Emir Fejzić, Elma Fetić, Anja Kraljević, Helena Vuković, Pavle Novaković, Tarik Džinić, Aldin Omerović, Ejla Bavčić

 

Riki works for a struggling catering company. Ado, his misogynistic colleague and brother-in-law, wants to fix the business by beating up Melisa, a former co-worker who is a top cake-maker, to force her to work with them again. All the rest of the employees dismiss Ado's plan as stupid and senseless. However, Ado is a stubborn savage, and his colleagues know he won't give up unless he is stopped. Riki is divided between a sense of justice, and the norms through which we tolerate family and friends no matter what they do.

 

Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Türkiye, 2024, 89 min.

Director: Rajko Grlić

Cast: Živko Anočić, Jelena Đokić, Boris Isaković, Janko Popović Volarić, Emir Hadžihafizbegović, Ksenija Marinković, Marina Redžepović, Srđan Grahovac, Anjela Nedyalkova, Katarina Bistrović Darvaš

 

In Zagreb, prominent lawyer Maks Pinter successfully defends his client, the rich and powerful Dinko Horvat, of double homicide charges. As they celebrate the verdict, Maks openly accuses Dinko of shooting the two workers — who merely wanted to inquire about their salaries — in cold blood. As a result of this conflict with Dinko, who is a pillar of society, Maks is ostracised. He is abandoned by his business partner, his clients, and his wife. But he does not surrender, and goes on the offence with the help of Nina, his love from his college days.

 

North Macedonia, 2024, 106 min.

Director: Dimitar Orovcanec

Cast: Mia Giraud, Martin Gjorgoski, Stefan Spasov

 

A mischievous teen ballerina mistakes her cell phone for that of an unsuspecting sex trade victim during a costume rehearsal of "Swan Lake.“ In full feathery outfit and stage makeup, she chases the younger girl to retrieve her phone, alongside her madly-in-love skater boyfriend. As they reach the girl and subsequently her pimp, they realise that the phone they have contains a compromising video of a politician running for office. In parallel with their escapade, there is the story of the boyfriend’s best friend, who steals a gun from his policeman dad to protect himself from a gang of loan sharks he owes money to.

 

Serbia, Moldova, Bulgaria, 2024, 106 min.

Director: Todor Chapkanov

Cast: Viktor Savić, Enis Bešlagić, Vojin Ćetković, Nina Seničar, Aleksandar Radojičić, Petar Božović, lon Bechet, Gennady Boyarkin, Aleksandar Gavranić, Iva Krajnc Bagola, Jovana Balašević, Maya Berović, Radoje Čupić, Đorđe Marković, Miljan Davidović, Vaso Bakočević, Blagoj Veselinov, Remy Bonjasky

 

Amidst the pulsating beats and chaos of Balkan nightlife, Petar, a former water polo star turned nightclub security guard, embarks on a high-stakes journey to rescue his drowning water polo club. Teaming up with Zeka, a hustler with a shady reputation, Petar navigates a labyrinth of rivalries and personal demons, determined to reclaim his glory and save his community's legacy. As he dives deeper into the murky depths of the Balkan underworld, Petar discovers that the line between victory and defeat is as thin as the surfce of water, testing his resolve and spirit in the ultimate battle for redemption.

 

Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, 2024, 98 min.

Director: Danis Tanović

Cast: Anja Matković, Uliks Fehmiu, Goran Navojec, Mario Knezović, Marija Škaričić, Mirela Brekalo, Snježana Sinovčić Šiškov, Luka Juričić, Boris Ler, Ivana Roščić, Jadranka Matković

 

When Maja travels to a remote island to resolve family inheritance issues, she finds she must stay longer than she had planned. Overcome by new emotions, through a series of unforeseen situations Maja is finally forced to confront some issues from her past. Residents of the island live their usual unusual lives; contributing to this in particular are Mayor Ico and his partner in an eco-friendly marijuana-growing business. Only after she makes friends with Saša does the extent of Maja’s unresolved family issues become apparent. Her quest for inheritance becomes a quest for personal identity and forgiveness.

 

Slovenia, Croatia, 2024, 112 min.

Director: Slobodan Maksimović

 

PRASLOVAN is an emotional biographical drama about the life and career of Zoran Predin, one of the most important singer-songwriters of the former Yugoslavia. The film follows his journey from his early days in Maribor through fame with the band Lačni Franz and his solo career. Through a retrospective of his greatest hits, PRASLOVAN shows how his songs reflected both social changes and personal transformations. It concludes with an intimate look at Predin's life, including his ups and downs and the impact he had on his family and friends. The film features prominent figures like Đorđe Balašević, Branko Đurić, Gabi Novak, among others.

 

United States, 2004, 127 min.

Director: Alexander Payne

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke, Jessica Hecht

 

Struggling writer and wine enthusiast Miles takes his soon-to-be-married friend Jack on a trip to wine country for a final single-guy bonding experience. While Miles wants to relax and enjoy the wine, Jack is in search of one last fling before his wedding. Soon, Jack is sleeping with Stephanie, while her friend Maya connects with Miles. When Miles lets slip that Jack is getting married, both women are furious, sending the trip into disarray.

 

France, 2024, 103 min.

Director: Emmanuel Courcol

Cast: Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Lottin, Sarah Suco

 

Thibaut is an internationally renowned conductor who travels the world. When he learns he was adopted, he also discovers the existence of his younger brother, Jimmy, who works in a school cafeteria and plays the trombone in a small marching band. Everything about them seems to set them apart, except their shared love of music. Sensing his brother's exceptional talent, Thibaut decides to remedy the injustice of fate and Jimmy begins to dream of a different life.

 

France, 2024, 85 min.

Director: Quentin Dupieux

Cast: Lea Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, Raphaël Quenard, Manuel Guillot

 

Florence wants to introduce David, the man with whom she is madly in love, to her father. But David isn’t attracted to Florence and wants to throw her into the arms of his friend Willy. The four meet in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, 2024, 86 min.

Director: Emir Kapetanović

Cast: Mirvad Kurić, Zana Marjanović, Miraj Grbić, Mirza Tanović, Kristin Winters, Goran Kostić, Marija Omaljev, Alek Kapetanović Marjanović, Vanesa Glođo, Saša Oručević, Rijad Gvozden, Miro Barnjak, Slaven Knezović, Armin Omerović

 

December 2023. To spread holiday cheer, a theatre company is touring small towns of post-war Bosnia with a play about Santa Claus. While children are enchanted by the play, the appearance of Santa Claus rekindles old disputes among the adults.

United States, 1998, 119 min.

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Steve Zahn, Greg Kinnear

 

Struggling boutique bookseller Kathleen Kelly hates Joe Fox, the owner of a corporate Foxbooks chain store that just moved in across the street. When they meet online, however, they begin an intense and anonymous internet romance, each oblivious of the other's identity. Eventually, Joe learns the enchanting woman he's involved with is actually his business rival. He must now struggle to reconcile his real-life dislike for her with the cyber-love he has come to feel.