CineLink Industry Days Programme Highlights 2025

More than 1,200 film and television professionals will gather in Sarajevo for a six-day programme focused on accountability across financial, environmental, ethical and editorial ecosystem in the film industry. 

A total of 45 new projects, feature films, documentaries, and drama series, will compete for €173,000 in cash awards and an additional €100,000 in postproduction and consultancy services. Partners include Council of Europe, Eurimages, HBO, TRT, regional film centers, UN Women B&H, Arte Kino, Post Republic, AvanPost, and Think Film Impact. 

 

The 2025 edition rests on a simple premise: responsibility is collective, stretching across the full creative process. 

 

CineLink Talks opens on August 18 with a joint forum between the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region and the Doc Alliance Network. Festival leaders from Berlinale, Doclisboa, DokuFest, Crossing Europe, Locarno, Ji.hlava IDFF, and Millennium Docs Against Gravity will reflect on their experiences with inclusion, sustainability, and maintaining audience engagement year-round. 

 

On August 19, a session co-produced with Screen International brings together top festival directors. Tricia Tuttle (Berlinale), Vanja Kaluđerčić (Rotterdam), Frédéric Boyer (Tribeca), and Jovan Marjanović (Sarajevo) will share strategies for balancing artistic risk with institutional responsibility. 

 

The CineLink Drama Pitch on August 19 will showcase 7 drama projects seeking partners. For the first time, the Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award (€50,000) will be presented to one standout concept. 

 

During August 19–20, the wider Drama programme explores key questions: who owns a story, who funds it and how do stories travel across borders. 

 

“Coproducing Drama from Small Language Territories” brings together producers from Iceland, Estonia and an international distributor to show how original content can succeed globally. “From SKAM to SRAM” pairs the co-creator of SKAM France and the producer of Croatian youth hit SRAM to discuss how to balance entertainment with public broadcaster mandates. “Adapting Reality: Vanguard (Stenbeck)” looks at how SVT turned the life of media mogul Jan Stenbeck into a globally relevant series without compromising journalistic standards. “Originals, Adaptations and the IP Balancing Act” closes the strand with insights from Billy Bowring (Slow Horses), Bob Konrad (Kleo), Denis Leroy (Banijay Entertainment), and Meg Thomson (Globalgate Entertainment) on navigating intellectual property and creative freedom. 

 

 

CineLink explores tech-driven change in two key areas: creative innovation and regulation. From August 18–20, Talents Innovation Forum explores the synergy of cinema, animation, and gaming. Through hands-on sessions, studio leaders and creative collectives guide young talent in game directing, worldbuilding, virtual production, cross-platform IPs, and AI workflows — all aimed at developing new storytelling formats and business models. 

 

On August 21, the focus shifts to AI policies and protection of creative rights. “Standards with the Needs of Europe’s Neighbours” brings together experts from SAA, EFAD, FERA and EPC, to discuss how to tailor EU standards for countries with weaker legal enforcement but active cross-border production. “Creative Freedom at the Digital Frontier” explores how AI-assisted tools can coexist with moral rights, data transparency, and free circulation of works. Speakers include Matjaž Gruden (Council of Europe), Ada Solomon, Sevara Irgacheva, and Snežana van Houwelingen. 

 

 
This strand examines how creative freedom can survive in a world shaped by political pressure, donor funding, and regulatory demands. “Sharper Edges or Safer Screens?” looks at whether socially driven films can still maintain artistic nuance, with speakers including Danielle Turkov, Faridah Gbadamosi (Tribeca), Lizzie Gillet, and Rob Williams (NEON). “Solidarity Finance” asks if peer funding and philanthropy can provide stable support without compromising creative autonomy, with voices from CineCollegium Budapest, Hubert Bals Fund, and UNIQA SEE Foundation. “Ticking Boxes or Raising Bars?” tackles whether diversity quotas and ethics protocols empower or constrain creativity, featuring Elad Samorzik (Berlinale), Marina Gumzi, Nataša Bučar, and Valeska Neu. 

 

• 17–18 Aug: Docu Rough Cut Boutique & Doc Talents from the East – creative documentaries in progress 
• 18 Aug: CineLink Books – seven top IPs from the region for adaptation 
• 19–21 Aug: CineLink Co-Production Market & Drama meetings 
• 20–21 Aug: CineLink Work in Progress – 11 feature films in postproduction 
• 18–21 Aug: CineLink Talks 
• 18–20 Aug: Talents Innovation Forum 

 

Delegations from Sweden and Poland will be on the ground all week, bringing producers, fund representatives and policymakers to forge deeper ties with Southeast Europe.  

Parallel to the market, more than 120 emerging filmmakers and producers will sharpen their craft through CineLink Industry Days’ Training & Skills platform, which includes the flagship programmes Talents Sarajevo, CineLink Producers’ Lab, CNC’s Going European and a dedicated module for students from leading European film schools.   

 

To make every moment in Sarajevo count, we have redesigned the Festival Garden as an all-in-one meeting point, hosting CineLink Talks, pre-arranged meetings, and the informal exchanges where the next collaborations so often begin. Additional activities will also take place at Swissotel and Unitic, further expanding the space for industry engagement.