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31st Sarajevo Film Festival

The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival, took place between 15 and 22 August 2025 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Black comedy film The Pavilion, by Bosnian filmmaker Dino Mustafić, opened the festival. A total of 227 films from 65 countries were shown in 22 festival programmes, out of which 50 films competed for the Heart of Sarajevo awards across four competition categories: feature, documentary, short, and student films. The selection included 15 world premieres, six international, 28 regional, and two national premieres.

Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa served as jury president of Competition Program - Feature Film. Paolo Sorrentino, film director, screenwriter, and writer was the recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for "outstanding contribution to the art of cinema". A retrospective of his films was featured as part of the festival’s "Tribute To" program. Actors Stellan Skarsgård, Ray Winstone and Willem Dafoe, were also awarded the Honorary Heart Award.

The festival closed on 22 August 2025 with the awards ceremony. Wind, Talk to Me by the Serbian director Stefan Đorđević won the Heart of Sarajevo award for best feature film.

Highlights

  • "Watch. Think. Act. - Youth for Human Rights"

As part of this edition, in collaboration with UNESCO and the Dialogue for the Future 3 project, the festival will present the program "Watch. Think. Act. – Youth for Human Rights". Young people aged 18 to 25, through films, discussions, collaborative activities, and visits to key locations, will gain insight into the core principles of human rights, learn to identify and uphold them in daily life, and connect with like-minded peers committed to driving social change.

  • Special Youth Perspectives Award:

From this edition newly introduced 'Special Youth Perspectives Award' with the participation of the Council of Europe will be presented. As per the Council: And it will be presented to a

  • Poster

The poster designed by Jons Vukorep has the word 'SARAJEVO' written in the shape of a heart, representing a symbol of both the city and the award itself.

  • Spotlight on Sweden

This year’s Festival will shine a light on Sweden with its "Spotlight on Sweden" initiative, designed to deepen collaboration between the Balkans and Sweden through co-production efforts and industry exchange.

  • Spotlight on Poland

The festival will present Spotlight on Poland, in partnership with the Polish Film Institute in this year's festival. It will highlight the strength of Poland’s co-production potential and the innovative frameworks, tools, and production companies.

  • Sarajevo Film Festival Partner Presents

In Sarajevo Film Festival Partner Presents programme the films from Doha Film Institute and the films aligning with Qatar National Vision 2030 will be presented.

  • "Tribute To" program

A retrospective of Ilya Khrzhanovsky, a Russian-born film director, screenwriter, film producer and member of the European Film Academy, will be presented in "Tribute To" program.

  • Masterclasses
  • Paolo Sorrentino – Italian director and screenwriter on 17 August
  • Michel Franco – Mexican filmmaker on 18 August
  • Ray Winstone – English television, stage, and film actor on 19 August
  • Ilya Khrzhanovsky – Russian-born film director, screenwriter, film producer and member of the European Film Academy on 20 August
  • Willem Dafoe – American actor on 21 August
  • Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held with the red carpet laid down in the front of the Sarajevo National Theatre, hosted by Max Alija Ludwig, Charlotte Izmira Cavčić and Bosanian actress Lidija Kordić.

Jury

Competition Programme – Feature Film

The jury of the Competition Programme – Feature Film includes 4 members and Ukraine’s Sergei Loznitsa as jury president.

Sarajevo Film Festival's Special Award for Gender Equality

  • , Swedish film and television producer
  • Ivan Marinović, multi-award-winning director, screenwriter and producer from Montenegro
  • Norika Sefa, Kosovan film director, writer and editor,

CineLink Female Voices award

  • Aida Begić, Bosnian film director and screenwriter.
  • NataÅ¡a Bučar, Director of the Slovenian Film Centre
  • Dita Rietuma, Doctor of Arts, a film historian, critic and director of the National Film Centre of Latvia

Official selection

Fifty films will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards at the festival in the four competition sections.

Pre-opening and opening films

A special pre-festival screening of a digital version of the 1955 Yugoslavian film Hanka directed by Slavko Vorkapić was held on 14 August 2025.

The opening film The Pavilion is a Bosnian dark comedy film directed by Dino Mustafić. The film is about elderly residents of a nursing home, who frustrated by years of abuse, arm themselves and rise up against the staff, resulting in a tense confrontation with law enforcement.

Competition Programme - Feature Film

In the 'Competition Programme - Feature Film:, nine films will compete.

Competition programme - Documentary Film

There are 20 films in the Competition Programme – Documentary Film.

Competition Programme - Short Film

In this category ten films will compete for the award.

Competition Programme - Student Film

There are 11 films in the Competition Programme - Student Film.

Out of Competition

In Focus

Open Air Programme

Open Air Program, consisting of two sections, Open Air and Open Air Premiere, line up as follows:

Open Air

Open Air Premiere

Special Screening - DFI Presents

Arab films at the festival:

Dealing with the Past

Kinoscope

The Kinoscope programme features 19 films; 14 in the Kinoscope section and 5 in the Kinoscope Surreal section.

Cinemascope

Kinoscope Surreal

BH Film Program

The 20th edition of the BH FILM Program, held as part of the festival and organized by the Association of Filmmakers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will showcase a selection of 43 films.

Feature films

Feature-length Documentary Films

  • Bloom - The Masters of Your Future, Jasmila Žbanić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany
  • Bosnian Knight (Bosanski Vitez), Tarik Hodžić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia
  • Ćetiba, Ramiz Huremagić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Dom, Massimiliano Battistella, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy
  • The Boy from the River Drina (Il ragazzo della Drina), Zijad Ibrahimović, Switzerland
  • Kapija - The Oath to Tuzla’s Youth!, Damir Pirić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • House With Heart, Sabahet Džafica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Butterflies Without Wings, Anel Džanković, Damir Kerla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Prison Beauty Contest (Miss Penitenciária), Srđan Å arenac, Serbia, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia
  • The Mystical Canyon of Rakitnica, Rubina Smajić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Grandma Sena, Dino Omerović, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • No One Will Hurt You (Nessuno Vi Farà Del Male), Dino Hodić, Switzerland
  • The Partisan Necropolis, Chris Leslie, UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Family, Davorin Sekulić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • None Will Speak The Truth, Azra Husarić Omerović, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • The Srebrenica Tape - From Dad, for Alisa, Chiara Sambuchi, Germany, Austria
  • The Track, Ryan Sidhoo, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Short Documentary and Feature Films

  • Anatomy of a Lost Sound, Zuko Garagic, Czech Republic, United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • A Distant Country, Edin Hurem, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Joe, Vuk Rađen, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Exam (Egzamin), Damir Mehić, Poland
  • Hercules, Marko Dukić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia
  • Bullet in the Rifle, Karmen Obrdalj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia
  • No Big Deal, Mirza Abdagić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Živa, Tamara Maksimović, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Lavander, Mateja Raičković, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro
  • Not Sure Where I Am, Enisa Adrović, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia
  • Piano Boxing, SaÅ¡a PeÅ¡evski, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Pun Kura, Antonela Pehar Å imunović, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Steel Hotel Song, Bojan Stojčić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Every Time You Leave, You Are Born Again, Mladen Bundalo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium
  • Forgotten Stations, Zdenko Jurilj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Student Films

  • Illumination, Mina Vavan, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • About A Bull, Emir Solaković, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • A Pigeon, Vuk Popović, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Beneath the Surface, Maja Ćetojević, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • The Summer Of My Summerbreak, Milica Vujasin, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Rec, Fedor Marić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • The Offering, Marko Brkić, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Network of the Festivals in the Adriatic Region Programmes

Six prominent film festivals from Southeast Europe, Sarajevo Film Festival, Zagreb Film Festival, Auteur Film Festival, Belgrade, Ljubljana International Film Festival, Slovenia, Montenegro Film Festival, and the Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers’ Film Festival in North Macedonia, will in a collaborative platform showcase a total of seven films across its joint programmes:

Adriatic Audience Award

  • Adam's Interest (L'intérêt d'Adam), Laura Wandel, Belgium, France
  • Christy, Brendan Canty, Ireland, United Kingdom
  • Maldoror, Fabrice Du Welz, Belgium, France
  • ', Alexandra Makarova, Austria, Slovakia
  • Renovation, Gabrielė Urbonaitė, Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium

Ecoscope

Yugoslav classic

Awards

Winners of the festival are:

Partner's Awards

Partner's Awards for the festival:

  • European Film Academy Short Film Candidate: Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, by Kevin Walker, Irene Zahariadis
  • CICAE (International Confederation of Art Cinemas) Award: White Snail, Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter
  • Cineuropa Prize: DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski
  • Ivica Matić Award:
  • Ishak Jalimam, Producer of the films The Sky Above Zenica and Gym
  • The award for overall contribution to Bosnian and Herzegovinian film: Zijad Mehić
  • UniCredit Audience Award: DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski
  • The UniCredit Audience Award for Best Documentary Film: The Track, Ryan Sidhoo

Special awards

Honorary Heart of Sarajevo

References

External links