The Competition Programme will screen the feature film The High Sun, by Dalibor Matanić. The movie spans three different decades and chronicles three stories of forbidden love in two neighboring villages bearing the weight of historic inheritance. The film premiered at the Un Certain Regard Festival in Cannes where it won the Jury Prize and was placed in the official selection of the European Parliament 2015 LUX Prize. The producers are Kinorama in cooperation with Gustav Film in Slovenia and SEE Film Pro in Serbia. 

Along with The High Sun, which will be having its regional premiere, the competition programme will also feature the minority coproduction Our Everyday Life, directed by Ines Tanović. This feature film, which will be having its world premiere at the SFF, looks at Sarajevo today, and follows the story of the Sušić family, who live ‘our everyday life’.  The fate and emotions of the main characters are painted through traditional Bosnian song – Sevdalinka. Dokument Sarajevo produced the film, while Spiritus Movens in Croatia and Studio Maj in Slovenia were co-producers.

The documentary competition programme will feature two local works: I Like That Super Most the Best by Eva Kraljević and the world premiere of the minority coproduction Chasing a Dream, by Mladen Mitrović. Eva Kraljević’s film, in cooperation with Hulahop Productions, documents ten years of life with Eva’s sister Mia who has Down syndrome. The film premiered at ZagrebDox and won the HT Audience Award. Mladen Mitrović’s Chasing a Dream, produced by Fabrika Snova from Serbia and coproduced by Factum in Croatia, documents the reunion of a group of Sarajevans who, after 1987 when Mitrović first filmed them, scattered around the world mainly due to war-related circumstances. 

In Focus is a non-competition programme which showcases the best regional cinematographic works and this year will screen the debut feature film You Carry Me, directed by Ivona Juka. The film is produced by 4Film and coproduced by Slovenian Vertigo/Emotionfilm, as well as Sloan Film Productions in Serbia. It is the story of three female protagonists who fight for acceptance, redemption and new opportunities. The film was recently shown in the East of the West competition programme at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, while locally it has been seen by more than 7000 viewers. 

The In Focus Programme will also screen Vuk Ršumović’s No One’s Child, produced by Art&Popcorn Productions and coproduced by BaBoon Productions in Serbia, as well as Kinorama in Croatia. The film tells the story of a boy lost deep in the mountains of Bosnia & Herzegovina, who is found by hunters and ends up in an orphanage in Belgrade. The film won three awards at the 29th International Film Critics’ Week in Venice as well as numerous other accolades. 

The Sarajevo Film Festival will for the 21st time be held in the capital city of Bosnia & Herzegovina and will run from August 14th – August 22nd.  It is one of the most prominent film festivals in Southeastern Europe, and boasts approximately 100 000 visitors each year. More information about this year’s SFF can be found on their official website. 

Cover Photos: scenes from The High Sun; Our Everyday Life; I Like That Super Most the Best; You Carry Me; No One’s Child