Sarajevo Film Festival

20. August 2026.

The 24th CineLink Industry Days took place at 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, where projects in different formats and stages of development from Southeast Europe and the MENA region were presented.

20. August 2026.

MINOTAUR by Andrey Zvyagintsev Screened at Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema

As always in Zvyagintsev's works, an intimate story grows into something much larger - a portrait of society, power, violence and a historical moment.

20. August 2026.

SKATEBOARDING IS NOT FOR GIRLS European Premiere Took Place

Behind teenage rebellion lies a quiet struggle of two sisters who must grow up overnight to save each other.

20. August 2026.

Vlade Divac at the Family Zone: I Am Incredibly Happy to See So Many Children Playing Sports

The Family Zone on Franca Lehara Street in Sarajevo is a central hub during the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, where visitors can enjoy entertainment, music, and sports activities throughout the day.

20. August 2026.

Dina Duma: I Never Wanted to Make a Film About the Community, but a Film With the Community

In Dina Duma’s SKATEBOARDING IS NOT FOR GIRLS, skateboarding becomes one of the last things that make young Adela feel like she still belongs to herself.

20. August 2026.

Florin Șerban: The Story Comes First, Style Follows

The idea for the film emerged during an improvisation in an acting class that Șerban teaches at his film school in Bucharest.

20. August 2026.

Docu Press Corner: Personal Stories Between Reality and Memory

Seven documentaries explore war, identity, belonging and society through different forms.

20. August 2026.

Coffee with the Cast and Crew of PALESTINE '36: Memory Is Resistance

One of the film’s key elements is archival material of the colonial administration, from which one of the central ideas emerged.

20. August 2026.

Press Conference with the Crew of SKATING IS NOT FOR GIRLS: Women in the Balkans Are Brave

The idea for the film came from a situation the director witnessed in real life.

20. August 2026.

Lucas Paleocrassas: Being Observed Without Judgment can be Surprisingly Empowering

A sensitive documentary about the metamorphosis of a boy named Yorgos, whose world of insects becomes an important link between his lonely childhood and growing up. The film BUGBOY will be screened in Competition Programme – Documentary Film .

20. August 2026.

Asghar Farhadi: Life is Never Linear

I was about seven years old, and I would only see the endings of films. It was strange, but it had a huge impact on me.

20. August 2026.

Florin Şerban: The Drama Has to Be Unaware of You, And You Need to Forget You Are in the Seat

YOU DON’T BELONG HERE explores the intimate, yet fragile relationship between a father and son, masculinity, and parental expectations. A film will be screened in Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film.

20. August 2026.

3 WEEKS AFTER at UNIQA Open Air Cinema Stari Grad

What starts as an ordinary school trip turns into a psychological drama when a boy named Zoza speaks out about his best friend's suicide and brutal bullying, only to become the victim of a cruel betrayal himself.

20. August 2026.

MINOTAUR Tonight in the Open Air Programme

MINOTAUR had its world premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Grand Prix.

19. August 2026.

Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Awarded to Asghar Farhadi: It is a Great Moment for Me

I was so happy to discover this Festival and I'm happy to see how the Sarajevo Film Festival has shaped itself over the past years: it's a special cinematic identity, said Farhadi.

19. August 2026.

Lana Daher Awarded the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award

The award presentation was followed by a screening of the film PALESTINE 36.

19. August 2026.

Human Rights Day: The Fight for Environmental Protection Is a Long-Term Process

The film ALL WE HAVE IS US follows the five-year struggle of activists from Chile and Serbia against the Rio Tinto lithium mine, showing the personal cost of environmental resistance.

19. August 2026.

Regional Premiere of the Film SUPPORTING ROLE

A retired Georgian film star embarks on a cathartic journey of self-transformation after accepting a bizarre and unsympathetic supporting role in a young director's debut feature.

19. August 2026.

THE VIRUS OF PATHOLOGICAL KINDNESS Premiered Tonight

On a snowy Zagreb night in 1983, a stranger inexplicably turns up at Zorka Vasiljević’s flat claiming he has arrived from the future using a time machine.

19. August 2026.

Docu Press Corner: Stories of Personal and Collective Struggles

Four documentaries explore broader questions of social divisions, public space, truth, and belonging through personal stories.

19. August 2026.

"Films for Future" Competition Winners Announced

It is a pleasure to be here and witness the outcome of the cooperation between the Green Club and the Sarajevo Film Festival. Back when we established this partnership, we could not have imagined how important it would become in raising awareness among such young people.

19. August 2026.

Press Conference With the Crew of the Film SUPPORTING ROLE: What Happens When Life Takes Away the Main Role?

Five years after winning the Heart of Sarajevo Award with her debut film “Scary Mother”, Georgian director Ana Urushadze returned to the Sarajevo Film Festival. Her new film SUPPORTING ROLE will have its regional premiere tonight in the Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film, after winning an award at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.

19. August 2026.

Emily Watson: Sarajevo Reminds Me Why We Make Films in the First Place

A Masterclass with Emily Watson, one of the most distinguished British actresses of her generation, was held at the Bosnian Cultural Center in Sarajevo. The conversation was moderated by British producer Andy Paterson, a longtime collaborator of Watson’s, and the conversation was an opportunity to talk about growing up, theatre, family, and acting.

19. August 2026.

Morteza Atabaki: I Was Making a Film About Women Quietly Changing the Rules of Their Own Community

Director Morteza Atabakija brings to Sarajevo a warm, witty, and beautifully shot story about how women’s emancipation in a small Turkish village began with a shooting competition. A film 32 METERS will be screened at Competition Programme – Documentary Film.

19. August 2026.

CineLink Docu Programme Awards

This year’s main CineLink documentary activities were concentrated on 16 and 17 August. At their center was Docu Rough Cut Boutique, a long-standing program jointly developed by CineLink Industry Days and the Balkan Documentary Center, which brought five feature-length documentaries at the advanced editing stage to Sarajevo.

19. August 2026.

Ana Urushadze: Film Sets Are Nothing Short of Magical Experience

Nine years after winning the Heart of Sarajevo with her debut film SCARY MOTHER Georgian director Ana Urushadze returns with an odyssey about a famous actor whose audition for a supporting role sparks an introspective journey. A film will be screened at Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film.

19. August 2026.

Bojana Novaković: I Imagined I was Making a Warm Portrait, but I got an all-out Turkish Soap Opera

Deciding to make a film about her aunt Gordana, the funniest person she knows, director Bojana Novaković had no idea that she would open a story about sexual violence, addiction, and family traumas. A film FORBIDEN AUNT will be screend at Competition Programme – Documentary Film.

19. August 2026.

Asghar Farhadi to Receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Tonight

The Festival audience can explore a rich retrospective of Farhadi's work, including his latest film PARALLEL STORIES, as part of the Tribute to programme at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival.

19. August 2026.

PALESTINE 36 at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema Tonight

In 1936, as the British Empire tightens its grip on Palestine, Yusuf is caught between his village home and his work in Jerusalem.

18. August 2026.

QUEEN AT SEA Gala Screening

At a gala screening held tonight at the National Theater Sarajevo, the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival welcomed director Lance Hammer ahead of screening his award-winning film QUEEN AT SEA.

18. August 2026.

Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Awarded to Woody Harrelson

After receiving a prestigious award at the Coca-Cola Open-Air Cinema, the Hollywood actor saw his wish fulfilled: his film Welcome to Sarajevo was screened on 35mm film, just as it was at the Festival in 1997.

18. August 2026.

Adriatic Film Awards Announced at Sarajevo Film Festival

The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival hosted an event dedicated to the second edition of the Adriatic Film Awards (AFA), which will gather film and television creators and professionals from across the region from October 23 to 25 in Porto Montenegro.

18. August 2026.

Woody Harrelson: Acting Gave Me a Life I Could Never Have Imagined

During his masterclass at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, the acclaimed actor reflected on his early life, the impact of Cheers, and the good times he has enjoyed in Sarajevo.

18. August 2026.

Docu Press Corner: Personal Stories as a Mirror of Society

Three documentary films addressing important political and social themes through personal stories were presented at the Docu Press Corner. Directors and producers from Moldova, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina shared their experiences and challenges during the filmmaking process with the audience.

18. August 2026.

Anwar Hashimi: It Was My First Time Attending a Screening With 3,000 People

Last night at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema, Sarajevo audiences had the opportunity to watch the film NO GOOD MEN. The screening was attended by actor and co-writer Anwar Hashimi, who also took part in today’s "Grand Coffee with..." discussion at Festival Square.

18. August 2026.

Press conference with the crew of DUA: A Generation Raised in War

After its premiere in her home country, Kosovo director Blerta Basholli's DUA came to Sarajevo audiences as part of the Competition Programme of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. The film is set in Pristina in the late 1990s, as war approaches, and thirteen-year-old Dua tries to find her place among her peers and in her own body.

18. August 2026.

Dragana Jurišić: I Feel There are Wounds from The Past That Should be Looked at Rather Than Ignored

THE BALKAN COWBOY is a deeply personal, emotional and investigative journey into the past. By reconstructing someone else’s life, it also becomes a way of reflecting on your own. A film was screned at Competition Programme – Documentary Film.

18. August 2026.

Martin Genovski: I don’t Believe Animals Belong in the Circus, But I Also Think We Must Understand the Past

At 32. Sarajevo Film Festival documentary lovers and animal lovers alike will have the chance to see the world premiere of BEAR WITH ME, the first feature-length documentary by Bulgarian filmmaker Martin Genovski. The film tells the moving story of Maxy, a wild animal trainer who spent much of her life working in circuses. It explores the extraordinary bond between her and her furry companions.

18. August 2026.

Tatjana Božić: The Collective Keeps You Warm, But it Also Keeps an Eye on You

After living in Croatia, Bosnia, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, the director set out - armed with humor and self-irony - on a search for the roots of her own non-belonging. A film FRAGMENTS OF BELONGING will be screened at Competition Programme – Documentary Film.

18. August 2026.

Blerta Basholli: Even in the Middle of a War, We Still Tried to Be Ordinary Teenagers

In DUA, director Blerta Basholli tells an intimate coming-of-age story inspired by her own memories of growing up in Kosovo during the 90s, proving that even in the darkest of times people still search for hope, friendship, and joy. A film will be screened at Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film.

18. August 2026.

Woody Harrelson to Receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Tonight

Following the award ceremony, Michael Winterbottom's 1997 film WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, in which Harrelson plays one of the leading roles, will be screened.

18. August 2026.

HIDDEN PEOPLE in Open Air Premiere Programme

Handcuffed and with no memory, two strangers build a raft to rescue their broken lives.

18. August 2026.

Regional Premiere of the Film DUA

As war approaches, Dua finds the fearless Maki and an unexpected form of resistance in a collapsing world.

17. August 2026.

Anwar Hashimi: This is a film about the fight for equality

The film NO GOOD MEN does not show Afghanistan only through war and tragedy. Instead, it brings a touching story about people who try to build ordinary lives through humor and warmth.

17. August 2026.

EVERYTIME Premiered Tonight at the National Theatre

While struggling with guilt and forgiveness, an unlikely trio sets off for Tenerife on a family holiday that never happened.

17. August 2026.

Regional Premiere of the Film 17

When the journey goes off the rails, two girls try to end the cycle of everyday violence.

17. August 2026.

Woody Harrelson arrives in Sarajevo

Woody Harrelson, who will be awarded the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the art of cinema and his exceptional acting career, has arrived in Sarajevo.

17. August 2026.

Docu Press Corner: Powerful Films Exploring Family Histories and True Human Destinies

Documentary films in the Docu Press Corner programme bring emotional stories ranging from nostalgic journeys and pop-culture symbols to confronting a painful past.

17. August 2026.

EVERYTIME Press Conference: Film That Erases the Boundaries of Reality and Fiction

Following its world premiere in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the award of the same name, the film EVERYTIME by Austrian director Sandra Wollner will have its regional premiere tonight as part of the Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. On this occasion, a press conference with the film crew was held today at the National Theatre.

17. August 2026.

Metod Pevec: Convicts Opened up Complex Philosophical Questions

Equipped with cameras, microphones, curiosity and knowledge, a director and a psychotherapist headed to prison. For eighteen months, every Thursday they spent time with those convicted of serious crimes – murderers, smugglers, drug dealers, robbers... The film WHEN I GET OUT will be screened at Competition Programme – Documentary Film

17. August 2026.

Raisa Răzmeriță: Elena was the First Woman I Ever Saw Driving a Car

To find a subject for her film, director Raisa Răzmeriță did not have to look far: in her own native village she already knew a woman, Elena, beneath whose cheerful and infectious energy lay a much deeper story. The film ELECTING MS SANTA will be screened at Competition Programme – Documentary Film.

17. August 2026.

Press Conference for Film 17: When Silence Turns into Violence

Kosara Mitić’s debut feature delivers a poignant portrait of adolescence through the story of a school trip, confronting us with a collective failure of society. The crew of 17 emphasizes the urgent need to address sexual education and the systemic neglect of of youth across the region.

17. August 2026.

Sandra Wollner: I was Interested in the Way Grief And Guilt Contaminate Each Other

In a film EVERYTIME by Sandra Wollner, which will be screened in Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film, a grieving mother embarks on a long-postponed vacation in the aftermath of a tragedy, exploring the unexpected relationships that emerge from shared grief.

17. August 2026.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen: My Film Journey Began In Sarajevo

Sorogoyen's work has received 42 Goya nominations, making him one of the most significant names in Spanish cinema.

17. August 2026.

HONEY BUNNY Tonight at the Open Air Premiere

On the eve of their mother's birthday, two sisters try to reconcile, but old tensions and family secrets resurface.

17. August 2026.

Kosara Mitić: I Was Never Interested in Shocking the Audience or Exploiting Trauma

Inspired by a true event that shook the region, 17 tells the story of Sara, her trauma, and the strength she has to find to cope with the aftermath. The film will be screened at Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film of 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival.

17. August 2026.

NO GOOD MEN Tonight at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema

Convinced that there are no good men left in Afghanistan, Naru fights for custody of her son after her divorce, but her perspective shifts when a journalist offers her an unexpected opportunity.

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