Documentary films and projects are squarely in the frame at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival and the accompanying CineLink Industry Days. Documentary Competition includes 20 feature-length and short films, while the professional programme includes the Docu Rough Cut Boutique and Docu Talents from the East pitch events, the latter organised by Ji.hlava IDFF (scroll down).
Additionally, CineLink Works-in-Progress includes two documentary projects, and a series of doc-themed talks and panels. The festival runs August 15 to 22.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The Documentary Competition selection comprises 12 feature-length and 8 short documentary films, four of which will have a world premiere and four that will have their international premieres. Ten films will have a regional premiere and two films will have a Bosnian premiere. In addition, one film has been selected for the out-of-competition programme and will have an international premiere.
“Selection inevitably reflects a complex socio-political situation, but also shows the enviable resilience of documentary creativity with the continuous emergence of interesting new authors,” says Sarajevo FF doc programmer Rada Šešić. “More than half of the titles in this year’s programme reflect the need to reconceptualize human relationships as a particularly necessary value. It is interesting that in most films in these gloomy times, or precisely because of this, the authors celebrate the power of love as the strongest driver of life, whether they are family or war stories. What is especially valuable is that even through these seemingly only family stories, we learn a lot about the complex conditions of life in a particular environment.”
Documentary Competition selections
- BOSNIAN KNIGHT / BOSANSKI VITEZ by Tarik Hodžić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, 2025, 79 mins) World premiere
- I SAW A ‘SUNO’ / SUNO DIKHLEM by Katalin Barsony (Hungary, Belgium, 2025, 92 mins) World premiere
- KITE / CHARTAETOS by Thanos Psichogios (Greece, 2025, 15 mins) World premiere
- STEEL HOTEL SONG by Bojan Stojčić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2025, 19 mins) World premiere
- LETTERS / PISMA by Aysel Küçüksu (Bulgaria, 2025, 11 mins) International premiere
- MY DAD’S LESSONS / LEKCIJE MOG TATE by Dalija Dozet (Croatia, 2025, 62 mins) International premiere
- RED SLIDE / CRVENI TOBOGAN by Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia, 2025, 27 mins) International premiere
- THIRD WORLD / TREĆI SVIJET by Arsen Oremović (Croatia, 2025, 101 mins) International premiere
- CUBA & ALASKA by Yegor Troyanovsky (Ukraine, France, Belgium, 2025, 93 mins) Regional premiere
- DIVIA by Dmytro Hreshko (Ukraine, Poland, The Netherlands, USA, 2025, 79 mins) Regional premiere
- DREAMERS: PEOPLE OF THE LIGHT / XƏYALPƏRƏSTLƏR: İŞIĞIN UŞAQLARI by Imam Hasanov (Azerbaijan, 2025, 86 mins) Regional premiere
- EVERYTIME YOU LEAVE, YOU ARE BORN AGAIN / SVAKI PUT KAD ODEŠ, PONOVO SE RAĐAŠ by Mladen Bundalo (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, 2025, 24 mins) Regional premiere
- I BELIEVE THE PORTRAIT SAVED ME / MUA BESOJ MË SHPËTOJ PORTRETI by Alban Muja (Kosovo*, The Netherlands, 2025, 10 mins) Regional premiere
- IN HELL WITH IVO by Kristina Nikolova (Bulgaria, USA, 2025, 80 mins) Regional premiere
- MILITANTROPOS by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgoviy (Ukraine, Austria, France, 2025, 111 mins) Regional premiere
- OUR TIME WILL COME / UNSERE ZEIT WIRD KOMMEN by Ivette Löcker (Austria, 2025, 105 mins) Regional premiere
- THE MEN’S LAND / KACEBIS MITSA by Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani (Georgia, Hungary, 2025, 15 mins) Regional premiere
- SLET 1988 by Marta Popivoda (Serbia, Germany, France, 2025, 22 mins) Regional premiere
- 9-MONTH CONTRACT by Ketevan Vashagashvili (Georgia, Bulgaria, Germany, 2025, 77 mins) B&H premiere
- TATA by Lina Vdovîi, Radu Ciorniciuc (Romania, Germany, The Netherlands, 2025, 82 mins) B&H premiere
Awards
- Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film: €4,000, sponsored by the Government of Switzerland
- The Oscar® qualifying Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Documentary Film: €2,000
- Special Jury Prize: €2,500
Out of Competition
- OHO FILM BY Damjan Kozole (Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 93 mins) International premiere
CINELINK DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY
“Sarajevo Film Festival reinforces its commitment to powerful documentary storytelling with a revitalized concept for its documentary strand at CineLink Industry Days,” write organisers. “Building on its longstanding support for filmmakers across Southeast Europe and beyond, the Festival introduces a dynamic platform for exchange, visibility, and industry momentum tailored to the evolving needs of contemporary documentary cinema.”
Taking place on August 17–18, the documentary focus will bring together decision-makers, filmmakers, and industry professionals for two days of curated sessions, presentations, and meetings. “These activities are designed to foster collaboration, elevate emerging trends, and respond to the shifting landscape of production, distribution, and audience engagement in documentary filmmaking,” organisers add.
At the heart of this year’s activities are two key platforms. Docu Rough Cut Boutique, co-organized with the Balkan Documentary Center, is dedicated to projects in the final stages of editing. “Known for its intimate, tailor-made format, it supports five carefully selected films from Southeast Europe and the Caucasus that we already announced earlier this year,” organisers write. Docu Talents from the East, organized by Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, presents seven compelling new feature-length documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe in production or post-production. These projects are seeking festival launches and international partners to move toward completion.
DOCU ROUGH CUT BOUTIQUE SELECTION
- ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD (THE GODS MUST BE MISTAKEN) by Jakob Krese. Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Croatia. Producers: Ivana Naceva, Annika Mayer. Prod companies: Pótem, Majmun Films. Logline: A Yugoslav family reflects on over half a century of upheaval, hope, destruction, and new beginnings. A dialogue about missing gods, an end that is not, and the price that must be paid for never giving up.
- CORDON by Anton Mezulić. Croatia, France. Producer: Oliver Sertić. Prod company: Restart. Logline: In a small, nationally divided town, Nikola, a child of a mixed marriage, is approaching manhood while dealing with a chaotic past and an uncertain future, trying to realise his true identity.
- LOST AND FOUND: Romania’s Hidden Adoption Market by Laurentiu Garofeanu. Romania. Producer: Laurentiu Garofeanu. Prod company: Mekanism Media. Logline: When a young Canadian woman who was sold as an infant in post-Ceaușescu Romania returns to reclaim her identity, she uncovers the machinery that trafficked the sister she never knew, one of 30,000 children “exported” for adoption.
- THE GREAT RESET by Peter Akar and Ambrus Fater. Hungary. Producers: Rita Balogh and Barbara Frank. Prod company: Other Films. Logline: Ever-competitive, thirty-eight-year-old Anna seeks to outdo her mother and earn her own recognition—so when she inherits her two-star Michelin restaurant, she tears it down to the studs to build her own legacy.
- WE SHALL LIVE TOGETHER by Damir Markovina. Croatia. Producer: Tamara Babun Zovko. Prod company: Wolfgang & Dolly LLC. Logline: Thirty years after the war ended, two brothers urge their father to return to the place they were exiled from—their divided hometown, a city made up of hurt, trauma, and precious memories.
Docu Rough Cut Boutique Awards
- Avanpost Award | in kind post-production services worth €20,000
- HBO Award | €2,000
- The Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) – East Silver Caravan Award | €3,500
- DOK Leipzig Preview Award | invitation to present a project at DOK Leipzig 2025
- Movies that Matter Award | invitation to present a project at Movies that Matter
DOCU TALENTS FROM THE EAST SELECTION
- A SONG WITHOUT HOME. Director: Rati Tsiteladze. Producer: Olga Slusareva. Country: Georgia. Synopsis: This immersive journey follows a young trans woman seeking freedom in Europe and her mother facing estrangement in Georgia, bound by love, longing, and the search for self-liberation across divided worlds.
- FLYING COWS. Directors: Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan. Producers: Vahagn Khachatryan, Irene Muñoz Martin. Countries: Armenia, Switzerland. Synopsis: In the chaos of war, a cow gives birth to a calf. As villagers pack their belongings and flee their homes, the calf is sold to cattle traders and begins a journey from Armenia to Iraqi Kurdistan.
- I AM ONE OF THEM. Director: Nadim Suleiman. Producer: Kasia Kuczyńska. Countries: Poland, Saudi Arabia. Synopsis: A Syrian filmmaker and a Polish nationalist cross paths, beginning a complex journey of friendship, self-discovery, and the struggle to bridge their differences.
- LAND OF FIRE. Director: Nikola Klinger. Producers: Kristina Husová, Jan Wilde, Taghreed Saadeh. Countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Canada. Synopsis: In the wilderness of British Columbia, a grieving father’s quest for justice for his murdered daughter interweaves with local rituals of healing and demolition derby races.
- MONUMENT OF REVOLUTION. Director: Mladen Ivanović. Producer: Tamara Puizina. Country: Croatia. Synopsis: The Monument of the Uprising of the Peoples of Banija and Kordun is one of the most significant monuments ever built in this region. Filming both casual and intentional visitors throughout the seasons, this film shows its gradual decay, which, in a metaphorical sense, means more than just the disappearance of a single monument.
- SHUT THE FUCK UP! Director: Taisiia Kutuzova. Producer: Alona Savchuk. Country: Ukraine. Synopsis: When a 16-year-old activist from a village near Kyiv exposes local corruption on Facebook, he triggers a storm of threats and violence. As he runs for office under pressure, he must also confront a deeper personal struggle — in a country at war and a community that seems not ready for change.
- STRANGE SEA. Director: Lala Aliyeva. Producer: Aysel Akhundova. Countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia. Synopsis: In the depths of the Caspian Sea the whispers of its dark past intertwine with the tales of ordinary life. Through a personal journey, ‘Strange Sea’ paints an impressionistic portrait of Azerbaijan.
Docu Talents from the East Awards
- Docu Talents Award | Award for the most promising project from the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
- Avanpost Post-production Award | The 25,000 EUR in-kind award of post-production services (color grading, master file, and DCP, 8 days for grading in Baselight, etc.)
- DAFilms Distribution Award | The 3,000 EUR in-kind DAFilms Distribution Award, covering international VOD release on DAFilms (including Americas, Europe, Asia) for two years.
CINELINK WORK-IN-PROGRESS DOC SELECTION
- THE FORBIDDEN AUNT by Bojana Novaković . Producer: Bojana Novaković, Sonja Božić, Milan Stojanović. Production Company: Sense Production. Country: Serbia. Synopsis: Bojana Novaković films a documentary about her mysterious aunt in rural Serbia, uncovering family secrets & confronting her own past in a darkly comedic, multi-generational portrait of women and trauma.
- SILENCE IS THE ENEMY OF THE SEA (experimental) by Evgeny Rodin, Dina Karaman. Producers: Vladimir Nadein, Anton Kurilchik, Mina Seyid-Mammadova, Evgeny Rodin. Production Companies: Dénapá. Co-production Company: Jol Filmproduktion, Mandarin Production. Countries: France, Azerbaijan, Austria. Synopsis: Nothing but the sea is visible from the barred windows of a large house. The inhabitants are lulled by marine songs broadcast day and night, so they never notice their confinement.
Newly introduced Work-in-Progress awards
- HBO Award: €30 000 cash. A direct license across 15 HBO territories in Central and Southeast Europe, providing completion funding and a guaranteed broadcast window. The winning project will have the opportunity to be aired on the linear HBO channel and included in the high-quality content library of the HBO Max streaming platform, helping it reach a broad international audience and positioning it among compelling storytelling.
- Avanpost Media Award: €30 000 in‑kind. Together with Avanpost’s ongoing €20 000 support for Docu Rough Cut Boutique, the company now invests €50 000 annually across CineLink’s finishing platforms offering post-production services.
Returning awards
- TRT Award: €10 000 cash. A long‑standing collaboration with Turkish Radio Television. The amount is transferred to the production company by the Festival and formalised as a licence agreement for TV rights within Türkiye.
- Post Republic Award: €30 000 in‑kind. Covers colour‑grading or sound‑mix services. Berlin‑based Post Republic was among the very first supporters of CineLink Work in Progress and remains a cornerstone of the platform’s success.
- Projects from both Work in Progress and Docu Rough Cut Boutique also compete for the CineLink Impact Award, a €20 000 impact‑campaign grant presented by Think‑Film Impact Production.
CINELINK TALKS
As previously reported, CineLink is organising a series of panels which are of interest to the attending doc industry, all of which are to be held August 18:
- Decoding the Documentary Industry: What Are Decision Makers Looking For? 18 August 2025 | 12:30–13:30. Industry leaders share what drives programming and funding decisions, offering insight for filmmakers aiming to navigate the global documentary landscape. Speakers: Helder Beja (Doclisboa, PT), Mathilde Hernot (Festival Scope, FR), Stefan Ivančić (Locarno Film Festival, RS). Moderator: Asja Krsmanović (Sarajevo Film Festival, BA)
- Year-Round Audience Engagement: From First Screen Encounters to Lifelong Loyalty. 18 August 2025 | 10:00–11:00. From film-literacy workshops to cross-festival streaming, this panel explores how festivals can connect with audiences year-round, with limited resources and high expectations from funders. Speakers: Gabriela Šitek (Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, PL), Veton Nurkollari (DokuFest, XK). Moderator: Asja Krsmanović (Sarajevo Film Festival, BA)
- Greener Festivals in a High-Footprint Business: What We Can (and Can’t) Control. 18 August 2025 | 11:15–12:15. A discussion on the tensions between sustainability goals and the practical realities of running a festival, and how collective strategies can foster change without compromising cultural missions. Speakers: Karen Arikian (Hamptons Doc Fest, US), Marek Hovorka (Ji.hlava IDFF, CZ), Sabine Gebetsroither (Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz, AT). Moderator: Maša Marković (Sarajevo Film Festival, BA)
The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival will be held from the 15th to the 22nd of August 2025.
