The Sarajevo Film Festival always features a solid number of Bosnian movies but those are all still done in defiance of a government that invests nothing into them, Sarajevo film director Srdjan Vuletic told N1 on Saturday.

“From a country that won an Oscar, we came down to being a country that invests the least into film. What we have are movies our authors have done working abroad,” Vuletic said.  

The festival is therefore an important event as it generates profit for Sarajevo and allows artists to meet people important for their projects.  

To the foreigners “we can’t sell Mercedes or Peugeot but we can sell culture,” Vuletic said.  

“As a Sarajevan I feel the festival is an important annual moment,” Vuletic said.

“As a professional, I meet other professionals,” he said, explaining that without the opportunities for meetings the festival offers “it would take you five years to gather all these people.”

Actor Alban Ukaj, who hosted the ceremony at Friday’s opening, also said he regrets the fact that less and less is being produced in Bosnia as without more production, there can not be any hope for the development of a film industry.  

The festival is important for actors in the region as it allows them to do some networking and offers them a chance to work for international productions.  

“We meet colleagues we don’t really see often. Some people I see only during the Sarajevo Film Festival,” he said, adding that the event has turned into one of the most important festivals in Europe.  

Ukaj added that acting has turned into a serious business.  

“I believe that the time of bohemians and drinking actors is over. This is a serious sport. You have to be fit,” he said.