Twenty films are selected for 29th Sarajevo Film Festival Documentary Competition. The selection, overseen by Rada Šešić, features nine world, one international, seven regional and three B&H premieres. Two hundred and thirty five documentaries were submitted for consideration.
The Sarajevo Film Festival Documentary Competition is open for films and filmmakers from Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Türkiye and Ukraine.
Docmakers will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film, valued at €4,000 and sponsored by the Government of Switzerland; the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Documentary Film (€2,000); the Human Rights Award, valued at €3,000 and sponsored by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and a Special Jury Prize, valued at €2,500.
29th Sarajevo Film Festival Documentary Competition selection
- A DAY, 365 HOURS / BIR GÜN, 365 SAAT, Eylem Kaftan (Türkiye, Croatia, 2023, 79 min.) – World premiere
- BODY / TELO, Petra Seliškar (Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, 2023, 91 min.) – World premiere
- BOTTLEMEN / FLAŠAROŠI, Nemanja Vojinović (Serbia, Slovenia, 2023, 84 min.) – World premiere
- FAIRY GARDEN / FANNI KERTJE, Gergő Somogyvári (Hungary, Romania, Croatia, 2023, 83 min.) – World premiere
- FRAN AND VERKA; OR A USUAL DAY IN AN ABANDONED VILLAGE, Sovran Nrecaj (Kosovo, 2023, 14 min.) – World premiere
- HUG / OBJEM, Miroslav Mandić (Slovenia, Croatia, 2023, 14 min.) – World premiere
- REQUIEM TO THE HOT DAYS OF SUMMER / REKVIEMI ZAFKHULIS SITSKHIAN DGHEEBS, Giorgi Parkosadze (Georgia, Greece, 2023, 77 min.) – World premiere
- SILENCE OF REASON / ŠUTNJA RAZUMA, Kumjana Novakova (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, 2023, 63 min.) – World premiere
- WHAT’S TO BE DONE? / ŠTO DA SE RADI?, Goran Dević (Croatia, 2023, 79 min.) – World premiere
- MY MUSLIM HUSBAND / SOȚUL MEU MUSULMAN, Daniel Ioan Bărnuti, Alexandra Lizeta Bărnuți (Romania, 2023. 70 min.) – International premiere
- DE FACTO, Selma Doborac (Austria, Germany, 2023, 130 min.) – Regional premiere
- DESERTERS / DEZERTERI, Damir Markovina (Croatia, 2022, 45 min.) – Regional premiere
- HORROR VACUI, Boris Poljak (Croatia, 2023, 23 min.) – Regional premiere
- NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS, Mila Turajlić (Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Qatar, 2022, 100 min.) – Regional premiere
- ONE ALOE, ONE FICUS, ONE AVOCADO AND SIX DRACAENAS by Marta Smerechynska (Ukraine, France, 2023, 8 min.) – Regional premiere
- SELF-PORTRAIT ALONG THE BORDERLINE / ავტოპორტრეტი ზღვარზე, Anna Dziapshipa (Georgia, 2023, 50 min.) – Regional premiere
- VALERIJA, Sara Jurinčić (Croatia, 2023, 16 min.) – Regional premiere
- BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS / ÎNTRE REVOLUȚII, Vlad Petri (Romania, Croatia, Qatar, Iran, 2023, 70 min.) – B&H premiere
- HOPE HOTEL PHANTOM, Bojan Stojčić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2023, 22 min.) – B&H premiere
- WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY / MY NE ZGASNEMO, Alisa Kovalenko (Ukraine, France, Poland, United States, 2023, 100 min.) – B&H premiere
The festival has also unveiled this year’s Jury for the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality. The jury comprises producer Jay Van Hoy; Festival Director of Sydney Film Festival Nashen Moodley, and Eye Filmmuseum’s Head of Programming Mila Schlingemann.The Sarajevo Film Festival Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality was established by Sarajevo Film Festival in 2021. Eligible filmmakers for the awards are not limited to Competition strands, and include all territories, provided that the film is the director’s first feature film.
