We have compiled our impressions of the key highlights of the festival program at the Sarajevo Film Festival, 30th edition.
This year, the Sarajevo Film Festival, held for the 30th time, is one of the most important film festivals in the Balkans. And it truly is. It plays a significant role, particularly in supporting and making visible the films, new projects, and young talents working in cinema from this region. Held in a small city, and one that stays connected to the city’s story, this festival conveys a strong sense of the need for interaction, connection, and collective thinking.
Cord Jefferson, Meg Ryan, Elia Suleiman…
In addition to the excellent selection of films, the masterclass sessions also became a focal point for festival attendees, as they do every year. This year, the festival hosted writer-director Cord Jefferson, actress Meg Ryan, director-actor Elia Suleiman, actor-producer John Turturro, and director-screenwriter Alexander Payne.
The meetings, held every morning at 10am. throughout the festival week at the Bosnian Cultural Center. These meetings were intriguing in terms of gaining insights into stepping into the world of cinema, as well as the production methods and journeys of these figures. However, instead of being true masterclasses, they felt more like casual conversations and interviews. Especially considering the audience following these sessions, it would have been beneficial to see more practical advice, life-saving formulas, or knowledge gained through positive and negative approaches. Given that the audience included not only festival-goers but also professionals working in various fields of cinema, structuring these "conversations" in a more practical way could reduce the distance between the participants and the listeners.
The first masterclass guest at this year's festival was Cord Jefferson, who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay with American Fiction (Cord Jefferson, USA, 2023). Director Jefferson shared with the audience his story creation process, character choices, and the methods he uses to establish conflict, all based on the story of American Fiction.
The second masterclass guest was Alexander Payne, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress with The Holdovers (Alexander Payne, USA, 2023). This masterclass was somewhat disappointing. The conversation between writer Ennis Cehic, who moderated the conversation, and the guest never quite opened up, and for a long time, the discussion centered around simple 'yes' or 'no' answers.
The third masterclass guest was Palestinian director and actor Elia Suleiman, whom the festival welcomed with a retrospective programme this year. While the fourth guest was Meg Ryan, remembered for her roles in City of Angels (Brad Silberling, USA, 1998) and Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron, USA, 1993). The final masterclass guest of the festival was John Turturro.
In particular, during the Elia Suleiman session, we would have loved to hear more about the arrest warrant issued for the director, the lawsuit filed by the Israeli government during that time, his experience as a stateless filmmaker, and how he continues to create despite these challenges.
Competition Programme - Feature Film
Eight films competed in this year's Feature Film Competition Programme. Three Kilometers to The End of The World (Emanuel Pârvu, Romania, 2024) won the Best Film Award. Yorgos Zois won Best Director Award for Arcadia (Yorgos Zois, Greece/Bulgaria/USA, 2024), and Anab Ahmed Ibrahim was awarded Best Actress Award for The Village Next to Paradise (Mo Harawe, Austria/France/Germany, 2024). Doru Bem for Holy Week (Andrei Cohn, Romania/Switzerland, 2024) won the Best Actor Award.
Among the selected films, Dwelling Among the Gods (Vuk Ršumović, Serbia/Croatia/Italy, 2024) had its world premiere, while Family Therapy (Sonja Prosenc, Slovenia/Italy/Croatia, 2024) had its European premiere. One of the standout films of the competition was Holy Electricity (Tato Kotetishvili, Georgia/Netherlands, 2024), a co-production between Georgia and the Netherlands. The film, revolving around love and friendship, builds its plot through a clever idea devised by young Gonga (Nika Gongadze) and his cousin Bart (Nikolo Ghviniashvili): painting and illuminating rusty crosses they find in a cross and selling them to people. This brilliant idea evolves into a journey of discovery, expanding into the suburbs of Tbilisi and the homes and workplaces of the people living there. Every door that opens or closes invites reflection on the region’s culture, human relationships, desires, and emotions.
Another highlight of the programme was Family Therapy, which centers on the privileged life of a wealthy family living far from city life. Heavily drawing on nuances of tragicomedy and dark-comedy, the film, from its opening sequence, introduces a fourth person to a three-person family, setting the audience up for a long journey of what’s to come. One of the film's strongest aspects is its sound design, with the other being its art direction.
The Romanian production Holy Week and the Ukrainian film The Editorial Office (Roman Bondarchuk, Ukraine/Germany/Slovakia, 2024), were the two films with the lowest chances in this section. Holy Week, set in rural Romania at the beginning of the 20th century, centers on the tension between Jewish innkeeper Leiba (Doru Bem) and his Christian worker Gheorghe (Ciprian Chiriches). As their conflict spreads throughout the town, a chase ensues. Despite the standout performance by lead actor Doru Bem, the film turns into a series of unresolved events. On the other hand, The Editorial Office, marked by its disturbingly heavy use of AI and CGI, tries different things but never seems to figure out why or what it’s trying to achieve, making it a very challenging cinematic experience to follow. One of the competition’s most promising films was Three Kilometers to The End Of The World, which was screened in the main competition at Cannes Film Festival this year and won the Queer Palm. However, our biggest criticism of the film is that, due to its back-and-forth, ping-pong-like structure, it eventually loses track of the issue it's trying to follow.
Competition Programme - Documentary Film
This year, twelve films competed in the Documentary Film Competition Programme. The jury, consisting of creative director Mandy Chang, director and festival director Marek Hovorka, and director, screenwriter, and producer Wang Xiaoshuai, selected Olga Chernykh’s A Picture to Remember (Olga Chernykh, Ukraine/France/Germany, 2024) as Best Documentary, while Like a Sick Yellow (Norika Sefa, Kosovo, 2024), directed by Norika Sefa, was chosen as Best Short Documentary. One of the weakest films in the selection was Biang Biang Express (Nikola Stojanović, Serbia/China, 2024), which convinced us that it stemmed from a simplistic motive, more like "let's shoot a commercial while we're at it" rather than a true documentary. This short film focuses on local producers in China but doesn’t go beyond portraying them as ‘happy and content.’ In reality, many of these workers have recently taken the lead in strikes, protesting against cheap labor, with reports of many disappearing or facing severe penalties.
The Seagull (David Lušičić, Croatia, 2024) focuses on the reconstruction of the ship “Galeb” (The Seagull), used by President Tito from the 1950s until his death in 1980, and follows the subsequent dissolution of Yugoslavia. The film tells its story through the testimony of an officer who was present on its final voyage, using flashbacks to explore the past. However, the film’s failure to delve deeply enough into its material turns what could have been a great subject into something lacking in value.
Heterotopia (Nikola Nikolić, Serbia, 2024) successfully presents its story in just seven minutes through its cinematography and the images it explores. The film intertwines urbanization, the culture of destruction, and reconstruction, positioning itself between experimental and documentary cinema. Cent'anni (Doroteja Prelog, Slovenia/Italy/Poland, 2024), which won the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality at the festival, holds a significant place in considering the future of documentary cinema. The film blends different technical approaches and follows the lives of two people, beginning with their youth. It explores the possibilities of moving forward in the face of a deeply destructive illness. By the end, the story evolves beyond being just an experiential film; it becomes something that allows you to observe the characters' development, addressing—or sometimes choosing not to address—things that divide time and give meaning to moments. The director herself is the main narrator and the one recording the story from start to finish, a concept that was the idea of her partner, Blaž. Therefore, the narrative is closely tied to how these two characters approach the process.
Pain (Ivan Faktor, Croatia, 2024), by one of the masters of experimental and documentary cinema, Ivan Faktor, focuses on the artist’s personal experience following his diagnosis with Parkinson's. The film shows the world through the eyes of someone living with Parkinson's, portraying the events and emotions from that perspective.
Like a Sick Yellow, which won an award at the festival, is such a powerful work! It’s an incredibly minimal and self-contained story. Unlike what is usually expected from a documentary, it makes you think about what will happen rather than what has already happened. It harnesses the power of repetition, keeping you intrigued. It’s about witnessing change while fearing that something might change.
Between Delicate and Violent (Şirin Bahadır Demirel, Turkey/Netherlands, 2024) is one of the standout documentaries in the selection. The film makes great use of techniques from the world of fiction. However, the sheer number of questions it asks within the world it explores causes it to lose its magic at some point.
Fragments of Ice (Maria Stoianova, Ukraine/Norway, 2024) is a beautiful work about the personal-politics layers. This documentary has an incredibly unique texture, with the ability to construct the past and the present through spaces that belong to the past. The film tells its story through VHS tapes recorded between 1986 and 1994, centering on the director's father, Mykhailo Stoianov, an award-winning figure skater.
Loxy (Thanasis Kafetzis/Dimitris Zahos, Greece, 2024) is an incredibly sincere and heartfelt documentary. It follows a young woman with Down syndrome, Loxandra, as she realizes her dreams on the theater stage. The documentary expands its story through Loxy’s rehearsal process for a play at the National Theatre of Greece, where she was cast. By capturing her excitement, fears, anxieties, flirts, and exhaustion entirely from her perspective, and avoiding clichés and predictable tropes, this film becomes truly valuable.
Alice On & Off (Isabela Tent, Romania, 2024) might be one of the most confusing films in the selection, both technically and narratively. Although it promises to explore the life of a young female artist who becomes a mother at an early age and seeks ways to continue her life, the film ultimately only presents a toxic relationship between two fighting adults without achieving much else. We would have preferred to see the story of a young woman pushed to the margins of the system directly through her own perspective. The story clearly has much potential, but it doesn’t fully realize or evaluate this potential.
A Picture to Remember (Olga Chernykh, Ukraine/France/Germany, 2023) invites the audience on a journey through a universe of memories and dreams. The film delves into the dichotomy between a family staying together and continuing to exist during wartime. It uses familiar stories exceptionally well to find its way. The family's past and professional career add a significant dimension to the narrative. The director transforms this knowledge into something incredibly creative for her story. It’s an excellent choice for filling gaps. The use of found footage and given information, such as history itself, is intertwined and opens up discussions beyond just reflecting on recent history, addressing the issue of boundaries and limitless possibilities.
Competition Programme - Short Film
This year, nineteen films competed in the Short Film Competition Programme at the festival. The jury, consisting of producer Anamaria Antoci, director Flora Anna Buda, and director and producer Burak Çevik, awarded the Best Short Film to Noksan (Cem Demirer, Turkey, 2024).
While TikTok_Cowboy (Anastaseu Ștefan, Romania, 2024) is an incredibly delightful film, the director's control over the story does not take this interesting film to the next level. One of the two short animated films in the competition, Elene Dariani (Elene Tavadze, Georgia, 2024), dazzles with its enchanting details. What a product of great effort! It gives a good reason to look forward to director Tavadze’s future works. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for another animation in the program, Tako Tsubo (Eva Pedroza/Fanny Sorgo, Austria/Germany, 2024). Despite its notable technique and storytelling style, the short film fails to delve deeply.
On The Way (Samir Karahoda, Kosovo, 2024), which competed in the main competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, is such a nuanced film! Director Karahoda creates an incredibly well-executed narrative that effectively conveys what the film is saying, pointing at, and its relation to the film.
This year, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Nebojša Slijepčević, Croatia/France/Bulgaria, 2024), which competed in the same selection at Cannes and won the Best Short Film Palme d'Or, was one of the best films in the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival’s Short Film Competition Programme. The director’s mastery of the camera and the tension created in a confined space is masterful! Lead actor Goran Bogdan delivers a stellar performance. With a continuity that keeps your eyes glued, this film prompts thoughts about the future of short films.
Noksan, which won the Best Short Film Award this year, presents all possibilities for exploring new paths in cinema with its intriguing motif. Demirer’s film Noksan is unlike anything else. It has a unique texture.
Must-see!
The festival's sidebar sections are in an incredible place for exploration. The In Focus section features When the Phone Rang (Iva Radivojevic, Serbia/USA, 2024), the director's second film. The film centers on a traumatic experience triggered by a phone call. Young woman Lana experiences the loss of both a loved one and her country simultaneously. Director Radivojevic explores the story of a non-existent country. When the Phone Rang is a story about displacement, the fluidity of national identity, or its possibility. In doing so, it portrays how a person in childhood or early youth is pushed into a prolonged state of displacement.
Also in the same selection, The Shameless (Konstantin Bojanov, Switzerland/Bulgaria/France, 2024) is a story centered on women. It’s a challenging work because the director is from Bulgaria and the film is set in India. The story follows Renuka (Anasuya Sengupta), who flees a brothel in Delhi after killing a police officer and seeks refuge in a community of sex workers in a small town in North India. There, she engages in a secret lesbian relationship with young Devika (Omara). The solidarity between the two women, the perspective of men and families on them, and the possibility of queer solidarity beyond Western narratives make this film valuable. As a director coming from an unfamiliar geography, Bojanov creates a truly significant work.
One of the standout films in the Kinoscope programme, which features genre cinema, was Vermin (Sébastien Vanicek, France, 2023). The film presents a horror dystopia where deadly and invasive spiders threaten suburban life in the French suburbs. Another notable film is Handling the Undead (Thea Hvistendahl, Norway/Sweden/Greece, 2024), which deals with the return of deceased loved ones and opens up discussions about the concept of a second chance. Lastly, Toxic (Saule Bliuvaite, Lithuania, 2024), which won the Best Film Award at the Locarno Film Festival this year, is a must-see. The film tells the story of how a beauty industry extension in Lithuania turned the bodies of two 13-year-old models into a living hell. In her debut feature, director Bliuvaite transforms brief moments into something intensely impactful and memorable. Issues that Hollywood films have been dissecting for years are depicted in a more localized setting, where the subjects themselves also become monstrous.
AI and cinema
Although the festival didn't extensively feature it in the film programme this year, but CineLink Industry Days and Talents Sarajevo focused significantly on the relationship between AI and cinema. On August 18 and 19, during Talents Sarajevo, there were two separate sessions led by Associate Professor Dominik Less from the University of Reading, focusing on leveraging AI possibilities from the development of an idea to the final form of a film. The sessions included groundbreaking workshops on access to ethical production mechanisms and the boundaries of AI. Less's workshop on training data, copyright breaches, and night shades was crucial for understanding the future of cinema.
Another session at Talents Sarajevo featured Igor Simić from Demagog Studio, a creative director working in AI, game design, and augmented cinematic experiences. This workshop invited filmmakers to explore cinema and the game world through AI dynamics. The workshop was highly productive, particularly as participants shared alternative methods alongside traditional ones. It was important to see how participants viewed the integration of games, cinema, and AI. Simić’s perspective also highlighted an important question: What happens if things don’t go as planned? Is there always another possibility? Can the risk factor be incorporated into production processes? The importance of developing a multifaceted perspective when considering the production process of a film or a game was clearly evident. A project can either consume all the team's efforts or be revived with a bit of heart massage.
The meetings at CineLink Industry Days also covered excellent topics. On August 18, a conversation with screenwriter, director, and storyteller Eric Brehmer and Documentary Campus manager Donata von Perfall focused on the relationship between generative AI and documentary cinema. Particularly noteworthy was the August 19 meeting titled “Redefining Boundaries,” held in collaboration with UN Women. The main discussion topic was the possibilities of a visually and aurally equitable and ethical framework.
This article was published in Turkish on the artnewspaper.com.tr website on September 11, 2024.
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