Elma Tataragić: Our Selection is Young, But Very Mature with Important Themes

 

First of all, I have to say that this year was a record year in terms of the number of films viewed. For our four Competition categories (feature film, short film, documentary and short student film), the selectors saw over 1,300 titles. So, regional production is alive and productive. In the end, we selected the most significant titles, and in the short film category there were ten titles, while in the feature film category there were nine titles. Of course, the largest number of submitted films was recorded in the short film selection, so this year we had an insight into over 700 short films from the region. The selection process was therefore extremely challenging and exhaustive. In the end, we have a strong and high-quality program with carefully selected films.

 

 

This year, we have only one debut film in the selection, 17 by Kosara Mitić from North Macedonia. But we have as many as four second feature films (Everything That’s Wrong With You, Skateboarding Is Not for Girls, Supporting Role and Dua), so we can talk about a young selection this year as well. However, this year we also have two third feature films (Shame and Money and Everytime), as well as two fifth feature films, Small Things by Zvonimir Jurić and You Don't Belong Here by Florin Șerban, authors who are already known to Sarajevo audiences. Yes, we can say that the selection is young, but very mature with important topics, mature authors' poetics and relevant stories.

 

 

We need to follow authors who started in Sarajevo in some way. It is not only the case with Ana and Visar, but there is also Florin Șerban, who started his international film career in Sarajevo with the film If I Want to Whistle, I Will Whistle, and Zvonimir Jurić, who has presented his films (not only fiction) at the Sarajevo Film Festival several times. Many of the authors we represent already have a strong connection to Sarajevo, and this is exactly the relationship we want to continue to cultivate with regional authors and producers.

 

Are we seeing more moves towards genres that have not been common before in the feature film selection?

 

Together, these nine films provide a rich panorama of contemporary regional cinema, encompassing intimate family dramas, coming-of-age stories, profound human dilemmas, and stylistically daring auteurs. With six of the nine films directed by women, this year’s Competition Programme – Narrative Feature Film reflects not only the region’s artistic diversity, but also the increasingly strong and diverse range of auteur voices shaping its cinematic future.

 

 

That's always the quality of the film. This selection is particularly challenging due to the number of films that apply for this programme, but the highest quality titles always jump out. This year there are 10 films, three of which are animations, and the rest are feature films. No two films have the same theme, but there are certain similar preoccupations with the world we live in, whether it's about individual experiences or collective concerns. As in the case of the Competition Programme - Narrative Feature Film, this selection is led by female directors, with seven films in the selection, and the programme itself is characterized by brave, intimate stories and a strong visual style. This year's selection also confirms that the narrative short film remains a space where some of the boldest and most inventive cinematic expressions of today are born. Through different poetics and auteur sensibilities, the films in the programme explore intimate and social themes, demonstrating how a short form can be just as emotionally powerful and artistically ambitious as a feature film. The programme brings together an exciting meeting of established authors and new talents whose voices will undoubtedly continue to develop on the international film scene.

 

 

In the region, the style of realism still dominates, but that style now takes on other characteristics, and authors often make narrative, visual, but by no means only formal, strides and change this style. They treat the heroes and film time differently, which was not the case before. Irony and sarcasm are very present, and the characters are often stripped to the bone. The films are really diverse and different, and the stories are unpredictable but still important and relevant.