The Sarajevo Film Festival was born during the Bosnian War, in the midst of the nearly four-year siege of the city. “I don’t know of another festival that was founded in a city under siege, in a city without running water and electricity,” notes festival director Jovan Marjanović, who didn’t experience the siege himself — a teenager at the time he was evacuated from the city and spent the war abroad as a refugee — but is keenly aware of the festival’s unique history and legacy.
From the start, Sarajevo looked beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina, seeing itself as a pan-regional event with the goal of reconnecting, and rebuilding, links between the countries of the former Yugoslavia that had descended into nationalist conflict and war.
In the decades since, Sarajevo has expanded its scope, becoming a hub for Central Europe and beyond, and a meeting place for the film and television industry “from Vienna to Istanbul.”
Last year, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the festival reached out to Ukrainian filmmakers to provide them with a platform to present their films and projects. That was Marjanović’s debut as festival director — he took over after two years as co-director alongside festival founder Mirsad Purivatra. For his sophomore effort, Marjanović is looking to firm up Sarajevo’s position as the region’s number one festival while adapting to meet the needs of a maturing, and still rapidly expanding industry.
Marjanović spoke to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, which runs Aug. 11-18, about the importance of remembering the past and the challenges of facing the future.
From an outsider’s perspective, Sarajevo, the film festival, seems so closely linked to the history of the city, particularly the history of the Bosnian War and the siege.
I know what you mean. I don’t know of another festival that was founded in a city under siege, in a…
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