Long queues form at Sarajevo Film Festival Box Office as ticket sales begin

Long queues formed outside the Bosnian Cultural Center (BKC) as audiences rushed to buy tickets for the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, which runs from August 14 to 21.

N1 reporter Feđa Kulina reported from BKC, where large crowds had gathered from the early morning hours. Some visitors arrived as early as 4 a.m. to secure tickets for the films they wanted to see.

Some festivalgoers came prepared for the hours-long wait, bringing folding chairs with them. Although online ticket sales began earlier, some visitors said they felt more secure buying tickets directly at the Box Office, while waiting in line has also become something of a Sarajevo Film Festival tradition.

As previously announced by N1, the Festival's Main Box Office opened at 10 a.m. on Monday. The first 10 customers are being rewarded by the organizers with 10 free tickets each for films from different festival programs, as well as a poster of this year's Festival.

'The audience sees this festival as its own'

Sarajevo Film Festival spokesperson Andrijana Copf told N1 that the morning crowds are the clearest indication of the level of interest in the 32nd edition of the Festival.

“They show us the great interest of the audience in the programs and films of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. They show us that we have our regular audience. We saw some people in the line this morning who have traditionally been among the first 10 buyers,” Copf said.

She added that the atmosphere also demonstrates how much both local residents and tourists have embraced the Festival.

“The audience, citizens and even tourists see this festival as their own. They consider it theirs, they live together with the city and the Festival, and that is something that makes us extremely happy,” she said.

First day of online presales up 20 percent

Online ticket sales are still underway, and Copf said interest has already been exceptionally high.

According to data she shared with N1, last year's Festival recorded a record level of ticket sales, while this year's opening figures indicate even greater interest.

“This year, according to the first day of online presales, sales are 20 percent higher than the year before. So the interest is enormous,” Copf said.

Speaking about difficulties some users experienced during the first day of online presales, she said the issues were being resolved and that online sales would continue until the end of the Festival, alongside physical ticket sales.

Organizers are urging audiences who are unable to find tickets for their preferred screenings to follow the Sarajevo Film Festival's official website and social media channels, where information about any additional screenings and showtimes will be published.

From 'Woman with a Landscape' to 'No Man's Land'

The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from August 14 to 21.

A special event is scheduled for August 13, one day before the official opening. Ivica Matić's Bosnian cinema classic Woman with a Landscape will be screened at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema at 8:30 p.m., with free admission. Tickets must be collected in advance.

The Festival will officially open on August 14 with Fatherland, the new film by Oscar-winning Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski.

The film had its world premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where Pawlikowski won the Best Director award. His work is already well known to Sarajevo audiences, as his film Cold War opened the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2018.

This year's Festival will close with a digitally restored version of Danis Tanovic's iconic film No Man's Land, which won an Academy Award.

Copf announced that Tanovic and the film's crew will attend the screening, giving audiences who know No Man's Land well an opportunity to see it again on the big screen, while younger generations will have the chance to experience one of the most significant works of Bosnian cinema in a festival setting.

The crowds outside BKC four days before the Festival's official opening are already offering a glimpse of the atmosphere that will define Sarajevo through August 21, as the city once again enters