For the seventh consecutive year, the Sarajevo Film Festival has won the support of the European Union's special programme to support culture, Creative Europe, as the best ranked among numerous applications from across Europe.

Of 95 festivals from France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Norway, Ukraine, Croatia… Sarajevo Film Festival was arguably the best winning 98.5 of 100 points.

This means that Creative Europe's independent experts recognised the quality and concept, which is a mix of the best regional, European and world's cinematography, said festival's manager Mirsad Purivatra.

“Such a decision means a lot in these challenging times for film festivals and the film industry. Creative Europe's support and such ranking is a sign of the recognisable quality of the Festival's concept as a central platform of the Southeast Europe's film industry, and its implementation, and as such it sends an encouraging message to filmmakers in the region,” he added.

The 26th Sarajevo Film Festival is set to take place from August 14 through August 21.