The Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded on August 18th with an awards ceremony, capping off a screening of more than 230 films from 70 different countries. The festival kicked off on August 11th, celebrating the vibrant world of cinema.
Elene Naveriani's "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry" earned the prestigious Best Film award. The award comes with a cash prize of €16,000. This captivating movie follows the life of a self-reliant woman in her forties, whose affair outside her marriage triggers a deep and meaningful existential transformation. Philip Sotnychenko was awarded as the best director for "La Palisiada."
Jovan Ginic took home the best actor award for a standout performance in "Lost Country," and Ekaterine Chavleishvili was named best actress for her role in "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry." The documentary category saw director Nemanja Vojinovic's "Bottlemen" and Sara Jurincic's "Valerija" securing the top prizes in their respective segments.
Director Kumjana Novakova was recognized with the Human Rights Award for "Silence of Reason," and director Gergo Somogyvari received the Special Jury Award for the film "Fairy Garden." Flora Anna Buda's film "27" claimed the short film category, while director Anna Gyimesi's "Falling" was awarded the top spot in the student film category. Turkey's public broadcaster, TRT, made a strong showing with three award-winning films: "Kanto," "Club Zero," "La Chimera," and "Blaga's Lessons."
"Kanto" was honored with the Cinelink Impact Award in the "Work in Progress" category."Kanto," directed by Ensar Altay, tells the story of an elderly woman who mysteriously disappears, yet her absence goes unnoticed. In total, 49 films across various categories, including feature films, short films, documentaries, and student films, vied for the prestigious "Heart of Sarajevo" award.
The festival, which began 29 years ago, was conceived to transform the city into a hub of culture and art and to contribute to the process of healing the collective memory of the Bosnian War in the 1990s. Throughout its history, the festival has welcomed guests such as Robert de Niro, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Morgan Freeman, and Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.