Sarajevo Film Festival Reveals 2020 Lineup Amid Pandemic

The 26th Sarajevo Film Festival has revealed a lineup of 49 films which will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards, whose main competition jury is being overseen by The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius. Scroll down for full lineup.

Set to take place from August 14-21, the Balkan event will be the biggest physical festival to take place in Europe since the coronavirus shut down most film and TV gatherings after Berlin in March.

Cinemas in Bosnia re-opened May 28 with numerous protocols including cleaning footwear before entering auditoria. International travel is permitted to the country, though in a limited form and providing travelers are tested for coronavirus. The event traditionally attracts tens of thousands of visitors and a couple of hundred films, but this year’s lineup is reduced and international attendance is likely to be significantly down.

Sarajevo’s four competition sections – for feature, documentary, short and student film – will comprise 29 world premieres, six international debuts, two European premieres, 11 regional bows and one Bosnian-Herzegovinian launch. The festival says it received 750 films across its sections.

The Venice Film Festival in early September is due to be the first major global festival to take place physically amid the coronavirus pandemic.

SARAJEVO COMPETITION PROGRAM – FEATURE FILM 2020

1. ANDROMEDA GALAXY / GALAKTIKA E ANDROMEDËS, More Raça (Kosovo, Spain, Italy, North Macedonia, 2020, 80 min.) – World premiere

2. MAVZER, Fatih Özcan (Turkey, 2020, Color, 86 min.) – World premiere

3. OTTO THE BARBARIAN / OTTO BARBARUL, Ruxandra Ghițescu (Romania, Belgium, 2020, 110 min.) – World premiere

4. THE ISLAND WITHIN / DAXILDƏKI ADA, Ru Hasanov (Azerbaijan, France, 2020, 79 min.) – World premiere

5. ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSES / OLA TA MIKRA OMORFA ALOGA,
Michalis Konstantatos (Greece, Belgium, Germany, 2020, 105 min.) – European premiere

6. DIGGER, Georgis Grigorakis (Greece, France, 2020, 101 min.) – Regional premiere

7. EXILE / EXIL, Visar Morina (Germany, Belgium, Kosovo, 2020, 121 min.) – Regional premiere

8. MARE, Andrea Štaka (Switzerland, Croatia, 2020, 84 min.) – Regional premiere

COMPETITION PROGRAMME – DOCUMENTARY FILM 2020

1. CONSPIRACY / ZAVJERA, Šemsudin Radončić (Montenegro, 2020, 90 min.) – World premiere

2. HOLD ME RIGHT, Danijela Stajnfeld (Serbia, United States, 2020, 75 min.) – World premiere

3. HOLY FATHER, Andrei Dăscălescu (Romania, 2020, 85 min.) – World premiere

4. IN PRAISE OF LOVE / U SLAVU LJUBAVI, Tamara Drakulić (Serbia, 2020, 80 min.) – World premiere

5. LET THERE BE COLOUR / NEK JE ŠTO ŠARENIJE, Ado Hasanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, 2020, 16 min.) – World premiere

6. NENAD, Mladen Bundalo (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2020, 22 min.) – World premiere

7. ONE OF US / JEDNA OD NAS, Đuro Gavran (Croatia, 2020, 51 min.) – World premiere

8. OUR LADY’S PEACE / MIR NAŠE GOSPE, Vladimir Perović (Montenegro, 2020, 18 min.) – World premiere

9. HOUSE OF DOLLS / CASA CU PĂPUȘI, Tudor Platon (Romania, 2020, 68 min.) – International premiere

10. THE FOURTH CHARACTER / O TETARTOS XARAKTIRAS, Katerina Patroni (Greece, 2019, 85 min.) – International premiere

11. HER MOTHERS / ANYÁIM TÖRTÉNETE, Asia Dér, Sári Haragonics (Hungary, 2020, 75 min.) – European premiere

12. MERRY CHRISTMAS, YIWU, Mladen Kovačević (Sweden, Serbia, Germany, France, Belgium, Qatar, 2020, 94 min.) – Regional premiere

13. RETURN TO EPIPO / VISSZATÉRÉS EPIPÓBA, Judit Oláh (Hungary, 2020, 84 min.) – Regional premiere

14. THE PAGEANT, Eytan Ipeker (Turkey, France, Israel, Germany, 2020, 85 min.) – Regional premiere

15. WOOD, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Michaela Kirst, Ebba Sinzinger (Romania, China, Russia, Austria, United States, Peru, Germany, 2020, 97 min.) – Regional premiere

16. ACASĂ, MY HOME / ACASĂ, Radu Ciorniciuc (Romania, Germany, Finland, 2020, 86 min.) – Bosnian premiere