The feature film Men Don’t Cry, a Croatian minority co-production by Alen Drljević, will screen in the gala feature film programme out of competition. The film, co-produced by Produkcija Živa, recently received Special Jury Mention at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

One Croatian and three minority Croatian co-productions are competing in the documentary film category. Two films will have their world premieres in Sarajevo: Home, by Zdenko Jurilj, produced by the Croatian Film Association (co-producer is Kadar from Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina), and the Croatian-Serbian-Bosnian and Herzegovinian film When Pigs Come by Biljana Tuturov (Croatian co-producer is Kinematograf). Also screening is Serbian film director Boris Mitić's new film In Praise of Nothing (Croatian co-producer is Anti-Apsurd), and Playing Men by Matjaž Ivanišin of Slovenia - the film won the Georges de Beauregard Award at this year's FIDMarseille Festival (Croatian co-producer is Restart). Both of these films will be having their regional premieres in Sarajevo. All of the above mentioned films will be competing for the Heart of Sarajevo, the Special Jury Prize, and the Human Rights Award.

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut film Into the Blue will have its premiere in the Short Film programme. The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival where it received Special Mention in the Generation 14plus programme. Also competing in the short film programme, where it will have its international premiere, is Toma Luetić’s film Plan A. Both films will be competing for Best Short Film, as well as for two Special Jury plaques.

Nikica Zdunić will compete in the Student Film programme with her project 13+. The In Focus programme will feature the best regional films from the last year, and will include Hana Jušić’s multiple award-winning debut film Quit Staring at My Plate.

A number of Croatian film professionals and projects will participate in the industrial segment, CineLink Industry Days.

A new format was introduced into the Docu Rough Cut Boutique workshop where authors received comments and suggestions on projects currently in progress. This preparatory module was held in Sofia from June 21st to 25th, and the final segment of the workshop, closed project screenings, will be held in Sarajevo. Nebojša Slijepčević will participate with his project Srbenka. Two Croatian projects will be participating in CineLink Drama, a programme geared toward television series: The Last Socialist Artefact by Ankica Jurić Tilić and Robert Perišić, and Danube by Sandra Antolić. In order to contribute to regional television series program development, CineLink Industry Days has introduced a monetary prize of 10 000 EUR sponsored by the Serbian Film Centre.

At this year’s 23rd Sarajevo Film Festival, Talents Sarajevo will host 70 promising actors, cinematographers, directors, editors, film critics, producers and screenwriters from South Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus. In the last ten years, the programme has continuously developed and gradually grown into the regional center for meeting and training budding film professionals. Croatian participants this year include film director Filip Heraković, producers Ana Vidović, Zorka Klapan, Tena Gojić and Hana Hribar, screenwriter Nikolina Bogdanović, editor Doris Dodig, and cinematographers Dragan Šiša, Magdalena Ptiček and Bojan Mrđenović. 

For more information please visit the festival’s official website.

Cover photos: Men Don’t Cry; Playing Men; Into the Blue