Festival Flashback: Looking Back to 2007 at the Sarajevo Film Festival

August 21st, 2024

This year marks the 30th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival. SFF is the largest and most premier festival in Southeast Europe. The festival was launched during the siege of the Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

The first Sarajevo Film Festival was held from 25 October to 5 November 1995. With the siege of Sarajevo still going on, attendance projections were very low. However, a surprising 15,000 people came to see the films, of which there were 37 from 15 different countries. The festival grew at a remarkable pace, and now attracts more than 100,000 people annually on all programs and screening hundreds of films from 60 countries.

At the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival in 2007, in cooperation with the Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talent Campus, the Sarajevo Talent Campus was added to the festival (later renamed Talents Sarajevo). Talents Sarajevo is an educational and creative platform for up and coming young film professionals, and has eventually come to be revered as the most prestigious film training event in the region.

Today, Talents Sarajevo is fully integrated into CineLink Industry Days and welcomes approximately 50 up-and-coming film professionals from the region. Talents Sarajevo provides a unique opportunity for emerging film professionals to enhance their skills, expand their networks, and gain exposure to the international film industry.
We look back to the feature film winners of 2007

Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film: