Tourists invading the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo during the Sarajevo Film Festival come from all corners of the world. What they enjoy the most is the atmosphere that the festival carries along.

The streets are crowded, both locals and tourists are strolling around the city, which doesn’t sleep during the festival week,

“It is amazing. I truly enjoy it. But it is not only about the festival, it is about the people and atmosphere, and all that general feeling of unity, because people from all over the region, Europe and the world come here to promote new ideas and that’s fantastic,” said Dominik Cicak, a Croatian actor.

Those who moved abroad save the dates to return to the city in this period every year. They say the city gets “more vivid and colourful”.

Organizers are satisfied as well. They say the visitors and the films are what makes the festival week great.

“It’s hard to say that marked this year’s festival the most. But I can say proudly and with a pleasure that those are both the film-makers and numerous teams who already were at the SFF, and of course, the audience coming in large numbers to see the movie screenings,” said SFF Spokesperson, Andrijana Copf.

Jose from San Francisco is visiting Sarajevo for the second time during the festival.

“I love watching documentaries. So far, The Cold War is my favourite,” he said.

A tourist from Rome hasn’t seen any film yet but he is enjoying enjoys his time in Sarajevo.

“I like Bosnia. I’ve been to Mostar, and I am here for two days. People are great and the streets are packed. I don’t know how it looks like when there is no festival, I will have to come to see the difference,” he said.

Festival days don’t end with the last screening of the day. The fun continues with a concert or after-party at several locations scattered around the city.