[ad_1]
As Sarajevo Film Festival Preparing for its 30th edition, the event, which will take place from 16 to 23 August, is a testament to the resilience and creativity of Southeast European cinema in the face of social and political upheavals.
Few cities carry the scars and burdens of history as Sarajevo does. The festival itself was born out of conflict, launched during the near-four-year siege of the city by Bosnian Serb forces in the early 1990s. While the festival has never shied away from this history – it has a section on films dealing with the past that explores “the many unresolved issues from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia” – from the outset, the focus has been on the unifying power of film.
“The festival screened Serbian films from the post-war years, which was not a popular choice at the time,” said festival director Jovan Marjanovic, “but we always felt it was important to build bridges and have discussions, not to censor or boycott, but to start a dialogue.”
Marjanovic proudly points out that in the thirty years of the Sarajevo Festival, “no politician has ever made a political speech on the festival stage, nor has any politician used the festival as a place or International Politics. This is something we have never done and we will never do.”
Instead, Sarajevo has focused on film, successfully developing into a hub for filmmakers from the Balkans and surrounding countries, providing them with a platform to showcase their projects, usually at the script or development stage, find co-production and distribution partners, and present the stories in their final form as films that examine the region and its people in a more nuanced way.
“I think that this year our focus on Southeast European films will resurface and take on greater significance,” Marjanovic said. “A lot has happened in the world and in these regions over the past few years, and filmmakers have either been catching up or reflecting, and I think the face of the region is emerging in all its complexity.”
Over the years, one of the hallmarks of the Sarajevo Film Festival has been its commitment to nurturing talent from the early stages of a filmmaker’s career. The 2024 lineup once again includes several debut features, though Marjanovic notes that first-time directors “are rarely truly new voices for us, because we run so many platforms for shorts, student films, and these ‘new’ directors have been at the festival for a while. It’s a real honor to see them grow and develop year after year in Sarajevo.”
Well-known directors also keep returning. Palestinian director Elia Suielman, winner of this year’s Heart of Sarajevo Award, is a regular at the festival.
“I was president of the jury (in 2016), I’ve screened my films there. I think I’ve given a couple of masterclasses, I think I’ve been there once, but not for any real reason,” Scheuermann said. “(Sarajevo) is like a family to me, and I don’t think I’m the only one who has this kind of relationship with the festival. I’ve met quite a few people who go there just because they love the place and the people.”
Alexander Payne is one of them. The Oscar-winning director will be attending the festival for the third time this year, receiving the Heart of Sarajevo Award and presenting a restored version of his 2004 classic sideways It’s the 20th anniversary of its release (the original version was also released in Sarajevo).
Marjanović stressed that the festival’s “family atmosphere” extends far beyond the annual August gathering to include events throughout the year. These include workshops, training programs, and even a city-wide art theater dedicated to promoting the region’s films and talent. This ongoing engagement helps build a close-knit community of filmmakers, producers, and industry professionals, and helps promote cross-border projects.
“Today, the first financing option that independent producers (from the former Yugoslavia) think of is co-production, which was not the case before, and I think this is Sarajevo Film Festival and our unwavering support for co-productions and collaborations,” says Marjanović. “We show industries in different countries how they are connected and how economies of scale can be achieved, and companies understand this. We see more and more connections every year.”
It is unlikely that the 2024 Sarajevo Film Festival will avoid politics altogether. Amsterdam Film Festivalprotesting the Gaza war Dominating the headlinesMarjanovic said he “had expected” a certain amount of controversy. “This is what’s happening now, you just have to be prepared, know how to communicate and be independent… If you’ve seen our program, you’ll see that we are showing a kind of film that strives to understand the human condition more deeply, both individually and collectively. A lot of it is political, but it’s never the politics of everyday politics, 24-hour news and social media. The festival is a rare opportunity where we can find space for nuance.”
Now in its 30th year, the Sarajevo Film Festival continues to evolve and adapt, just like the region it represents. But its core mission – to showcase the best of Southeastern Europe’s cinema, nurture new talent, and provide a platform for dialogue and understanding – remains unchanged.
“Our core belief, no matter how naive it may sound, is that peace will prevail,” Marjanovich said. “We have to work on that and focus on what unites us in all our differences. That is cinema, and the ability to reflect and see those around us as human beings.”
[ad_2]
Source link
