The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival opened with the world premiere of the film „The Pavilion“ by Dino Mustafić

The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival was opened at the Sarajevo National Theater with a solemn ceremony and the world premiere of the Bosnian film "Pavilion" by Dino Mustafić, which was screened at eight locations in Sarajevo, as well as in Tuzla.

 

“We live in a world where conflicts, the worst crimes, fragmentation, and political crises have become part of everyday life. In such moments, film must be powerful. It cannot and will not remain silent. Its strength lies in creating space for dialogue, for empathy, for what unites us. The Festival is here to carry that voice and, through its programme, to shoulder that responsibility,” said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, adding that we must speak about our own, Bosnian-Herzegovinian cinema — which is known and recognized around the world, yet at the same time is the most vulnerable, surviving thanks to the talent and perseverance of authors who, despite everything, continue to defy the odds.

“We are opening the Festival with a Bosnian-Herzegovinian film “The Pavilion” by Dino Mustafić. The fact that tonight we have a Bosnian-Herzegovinian film on the big screen does not mean we will be able to say the same next year. If we want our cinema to survive, there must be strategic, sovereign support, stable funding, a law that is respected, and a clear response from the political and business community”, Marjanović said.

 

“It is a great honor to open the Sarajevo Film Festival. Tonight, together with the audience — as many as 6,000 people — we are opening the doors of The Pavilion. You will see, it is a film that offers no comfort, but instead raises very important and real questions. Our wish is that after the screening you take with you some of the emotions we felt during the making of the film,” said director Dino Mustafić.

 

Programmer Elma Tataragić introduced the programme of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival

“The Festival will present as many as 120 regional titles, and this is precisely what makes the Sarajevo Film Festival the largest platform for the promotion of regional cinema and the most important test for all those in the region who are professionally engaged in this form of visual creativity,” said Tataragić.

 

In addition to the National Theater, "Pavilion" was also watched by the audience in full cinemas: in the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema, the UNIQA Open Air Cinema Stari Grad, the Open Air Cinema Centar „Safet Zajko“, the BH Telecom Open Air Cinema Centar, the Grbavica Cinema and the Ilidža Picnic Cinema.

With the world premiere of the film "Pavilion" the programme of the Sarajevo Film Festival in Tuzla also began, at the Bingo Open Air Cinema Tuzla.

 

“The Pavilion” is a dark comedy about a group of residents in a retirement home who, after years of abuse and humiliation, decide to stage an armed revolt. Armed with illegal weapons, they take over the home, hold the staff hostage, and clash with the authorities…

 

The host of the opening ceremony of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival is actress Lidija Kordić.

 

At the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival, which will be held until August 22, 227 films from 65 countries will be shown in 22 festival programmes. There are 50 films in competition for the Heart of Sarajevo awards.

The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival will take place until August 22.