The 24th Sarajevo Film Festival kicked off Friday evening with the projection of “Cold War” by Polish director and Oscar-winner Pawel Pawlikowski.
Fans gathered in front of Sarajevo’s National Theatre as regional stars paraded the red carpet.
This was followed by the official opening, hosted by Kosovar actor Alban Ukaj.
Pawlikowski also attended the ceremony and said that he was particularly thrilled his movie was opening the festival as he had fallen in love with the city in the 1980s when he watched the legendary 1981 film ‘Do You Remember Dolly Bell?’ by Emir Kusturica. He said that he kept coming back to Sarajevo since then.
The SFF was born during the Bosnian 1992-95 war in defiance of the violence and the siege of the Bosnian capital. Throughout the following years, it grew into the most prominent film festival in Southeast Europe.
During the next eight days, tens of thousands will watch 266 films from 56 countries, including 52 premiers.
Ten movies will compete for the prestigious The Heart of Sarajevo award within the Competition Programme and this year's Honorary Heart of Sarajevo will be handed to the Turkish film-maker Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Bosnian entrepreneur and philanthropy Nijaz Hastor, the SFF management earlier announced.
