AJB DOC 23

The sixth Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival is set to run September 8-12 in Sarajevo. With a theme of Rights[s], 24 films are selected, six of which are world premieres. At the same time, 22 new doc projects will be presented during Industry Days (Sept 9-11). “We found our time-frame and niche in the world of documentary films, and that is documentary films intended for television broadcast,” says festival director Edhem Fočo.

Organisers of the 6th Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC, 8-12 September, Sarajevo) unveiled August 28 this year’s 24-film official selection. Thirteen films play in Competition programme, including the highly lauded My Name is Happy by Nick Read and Ayse Toprak, and When Spring Came to Bucha by Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz. The overall selection presents six world, one international, 12 regional and five Bosnian and Herzegovinian premieres.

The international jury for the 6th Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC, 8-12 Sept) comprises director Vitaliy Manskiy, director Bernadett Tuza-Ritter, producer Vanja Jambrović, director Nermin Hamzagić, and producer Mohamed Elmongy. The five-member jury will decide on the best film from the AJB DOC Film Festival competition programme and grant the AJB DOC Main Award.

The theme “points out the increasingly frequent denial of fundamental rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to, regardless of their origin, beliefs and way of life,” write festival organisers. The sixth Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC) will be held from September 8 to 12 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.