28TH SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL OPENS IN BOSNIAN CAPITAL

Sat 13 August 2022:

The 28th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) kicked off on Friday with award-winning Swedish film director Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness.

Prior to the premiere of his most recent film, which won him the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival three months ago, Ostlund was honored with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his commitment to the art of film.

“I am very happy to be back in Sarajevo,” said Ostlund at the opening ceremony, adding that the film festival is a great opportunity to see movies from a different perspective and have both the audience and colleagues in the same room.

The opening ceremony was held at the National Theater with a red carpet parade that saw the participation of top names from the world of cinema.

Thousands of moviegoers from across the world will attend the SFF, which will last until Aug. 19, where viewers will have the opportunity to watch more than 200 films from 62 countries.

Ukrainian director, screenwriter and producer Sergei Loznitsa and Swedish director Ruben Ostlund were awarded the “Heart of Sarajevo” Honorary Award during the opening ceremonies.

People stand near the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Aug. 12, 2022. (Photo by Nedim Grabovic/Xinhua)

People attend the opening ceremony of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Aug. 12, 2022. (Photo by Nedim Grabovic/Xinhua)

Director of the Sarajevo Film Festival Jovan Marjanovic (R, Front) poses for a photo during the opening ceremony of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Aug. 12, 2022. (Photo by Nedim Grabovic/Xinhua)

People light their phones during the opening ceremony of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Aug. 12, 2022. (Photo by Nedim Grabovic/Xinhua)

Festival director Jovan Marjanovic expressed his happiness that the festival is being held in its original form after two years due to coronavirus pandemic reasons.

The festival features six TRT films, including five TRT co-productions and one TRT award-winning film.

The festival will screen 235 films from 62 countries in 19 programs, 54 of which will have their world premiere. It is set to feature 51 films in four categories.

Fifty-one will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards.

The festival began 28 years ago to make the city again a destination of culture and art and help heal the memories of the bloody Bosnian War in the 1990s.

Past festival attendees include luminaries as Robert de Niro, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Daniel Craig, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Gerard Depardieu and Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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