Bosnia And Hzegovina Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Christopher Vourlias Croatia’s Drugi Plan and Bulgaria’s Agitprop, two of the leading production outfits in Southeast Europe, have been attached to co-produce the upcoming drama series “Sabre,” a political thriller revolving around the 2003 assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic produced by Belgrade-based This and That Productions.Created by Goran Stanković and Vladimir Tagić, the series will star Serbian-Danish actress Danica Curcic, known to international audiences for her lead role in the Netflix psychological thriller “The Chestnut Man,” as a reporter investigating the shocking murder.The companies announced the deal on Monday at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where This and That’s “Bad Blood” and Drugi Plan’s “The Silence” were among the top Balkan drama series vying for Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards, which were handed out at a ceremony in the Bosnian capital on Sunday night. “Sabre” was first pitched in Sarajevo three years ago during the CineLink Drama co-financing forum, where it was named best drama project.

Mads Mikkelsen reflected on his career at the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia And Herzegovina over the weekend, discussing his lengthy career and which three actors he dreams of working with next. The Danish film and TV star was this year’s recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his outstanding contribution to the art of film.

Produced in conjunction with Serbia, Slovenia and Finland, Croatian six-part mini-series The Last Socialist Artefact had the perfect pedigree to take top honors in the Hearts of Sarajevo Awards for TV Series, a regional award set up to celebrate the past year’s best small-screen talent from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Slovenia.

Christopher Vourlias In some ways it’s a year of transition for the Sarajevo Film Festival, which sees former industry head and co-director Jovan Marjanović take the helm as festival director, while long-time staffer Maša Marković takes over as head of industry. For Marković, who began her career at the long-running Bosnian fest 15 years ago, the change “was kind of organic,” offering the kind of smooth transition that has allowed Sarajevo to retain its position as the leading industry confab in Southeast Europe.For nearly three decades, the festival has identified and launched local talent while serving as a think tank of sorts for the region’s rapidly evolving screen industries.

Christopher Vourlias When the first edition of what would become the Sarajevo Film Festival was held in 1995, the Bosnian capital was in the final year of a devastating, four-year siege. Electricity shortages plunged the city into darkness, while food and hard currency were scarce.

Jovan Marjanović has been with the Sarajevo Film Festival for more than two decades and while he is what he describes as “a true child of the festival” this year marks the first edition where he’ll sit as director of the much-loved Balkan event, taking the reins from founder and long-time director Mirsad Purivatra.

Naman Ramachandran The Walt Disney Company’s streamer Disney+ will be available in 42 new countries and 11 new territories this week following the launch on Tuesday in Greece, Turkey and countries in Central Eastern Europe, including Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Croatia. Tuesday’s series of launches follow the arrival of the service in South Africa on May 18 and across West Asia and North Africa on June 8.

Anna Franklin Nine projects have been selected for the CineLink Co-Production Market and seven for the CineLink Drama at the upcoming edition of CineLink Industry Days within the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug. 12-19), according to Film New Europe.The CineLink Co-Production Market includes projects from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, while projects from Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary were selected for CineLink Drama.A new development award, Female Voices CineLink Award with a cash prize of Euros 10,000, presented by the Slovenian Film Center, will be handed to one project from the CineLink Co-Production Market or CineLink Drama.CineLink Industry Days will start with CineLink Workshop this month, one-on-one meetings during the festival (Aug.

The Sarajevo International Film Festival has unveiled the nominees for its second annual TV awards with 17 series from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Slovenia represented across the nominees.

Emilio Mayorga 10 exciting Spanish directors to track in 2022:GABRIEL AZORÍN“I’m interested in films that move from intimacy to mystery exploring language without being solemn,” says shorts director Azorín (“Greyhounds”). Backed by Spain’s Dvein Films and Filmika Galaika, “Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes,” his long-awaited first feature and a friendship tale straddling Roman and modern times, proved  a buzz title at Locarno’s 2021 Match Me forum.VERÓNICA ECHEGUILaunched as an actor by Bigas Luna in “My Name is La Juani,” the “Trust” and “Fortitude” thesp’s surprising first short “She Wolf Totem” earned her a director Goya.

Kristine Simsone “Samuel’s Travels,” directed by Latvian/Armenian filmmaker Aik Karapetian, has been acquired by HBO Central Europe. The deal was signed by the Copenhagen-based LevelK, who picked up international sales rights on the film in September, according to Film New Europe.

Nick Schager Film CriticA nonfiction collage that plumbs the complicated relationship between filmmaker and subject, “Cameraperson” finds cinematographer Kirsten Johnson assembling snippets from her past works in order to evoke an assortment of intricate, uneasily resolved questions. The person behind the camera for “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Darfur Now” and “Citizenfour” (among many others), Johnson has made a decades-long career out of traveling the globe for stories that uncover hidden truths — a modus operandi reflected in her backward gaze, seeking the larger threads uniting the images and moments that continue to affect her. Without narration or a conventional storyline, it’s a uniquely insightful memoir-cum-critical-treatise that, after its Sundance premiere, should garner substantial attention from the documentary crowd.Aside from opening text that explains the diary-like nature of the project, “Cameraperson” offers little overt context regarding its intentions, instead diving headfirst into snapshot after snapshot from Johnson’s earlier films.

The AntidoteWidely available, episodes weeklyUntold KillingWidely available, episodes weeklyContinuing its detailed investigation of the Bosnian war, the second season of this incisive podcast tells the story of the discovery of concentration camps in the town of Prijedor. With testimony from reporter Ed Vulliamy, it is a harrowing and cautionary account of human cruelty. Ammar KaliaEureka!Widely available, episodes weeklyRick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks promise a raft of pub facts in their science podcast – and they certainly deliver.

Eurovision is back and, potentially, bigger than ever.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDisney Plus confirmed launch dates — and pricing — for the 42 countries and 11 new territories across Europe, West Asia and Africa.Disney’s flagship streaming service will bow in South Africa on May 18, followed by all other countries listed in June (see below for dates and pricing). The media conglomerate earlier this year announced plans for summer 2022 expansion to countries including Turkey, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.The countries set to get Disney Plus are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine Territories, Poland, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City and Yemen.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentHBO Max International head Johannes Larcher is set to give a keynote address at MipTV, the international TV showcase which will make a comeback as in-person market in Cannes after going virtual due to the pandemic. Larcher will discuss the launch of HBO Max, the WarnerMedia-owned streaming platform, in 61 territories worldwide.

Prince William continues to face criticism over the comments he made about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this week.

Prince William is facing backlash for comments made while visiting the Ukrainian Cultural Centre on Wednesday.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMirsad Purivatra has stepped down as Sarajevo Film Festival director after a 27-year run, and has been replaced by Jovan Marjanović, who was previously in charge of the festival’s industry department and the festival co-director.Purivatra, the founder of the festival, will assume the role of president of the Obala Art Centar Association, the umbrella organization behind the festival.“I am proud of everything we have accomplished over the last 27 years. We started from nothing, when our city was under siege, and today we are a globally renowned institution attended by filmmakers and film industry professionals from the region and the whole world,” Purivatra said.“We have faced many challenges on this journey.

K.J. Yossman SkyShowtime, the joint streaming venture between Comcast and ViacomCBS, has received full regulatory approval.It will launch in Europe later this year.

HBO Max has lined up the second phase of its international launch, with 15 further European nations set to receive WarnerMedia’s streaming platform from March 8.

Manori Ravindran International EditorHBO Max is continuing a steady roll-out in Europe with its second wave of countries.The WarnerMedia-owned streaming service is launching in an additional 15 nations on March 8, this time targeting Central and Eastern Europe. This covers Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max EMEA, says it has been a “cautious choice” to get the markets launched in Europe, where the HBO Max roll-out began in earnest in October with launches in the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland) as well as Spain and Andorra.

Edin Dzeko has revealed a falling out with Manuel Pellegrini led to his exit from Manchester City in 2015.

Naman Ramachandran The Walt Disney Company’s streamer Disney Plus has confirmed a summer 2022 launch across Europe, Africa and West Asia in 42 countries and 11 new territories. New countries for the service include South Africa, Turkey, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.The countries that the streamer will launch in include Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine Territories, Poland, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City and Yemen.

Shoeboxes full of gifts for children from kind-hearted residents in Dumfriesshire are on their way to children in Liberia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Jessica Kiang There are three white fortresses that neatly demarcate the divides so evocatively drawn in Igor Drljača’s “The White Fortress,” recently named Bosnia and Herzegovina’s submission for the 94th Oscars. There’s the grim, encircling tower block in which scrappy low-level hustler Faruk (Pavle Čemerkić) lives with his grandmother.

Oleksandr Zinchenko scored to help Ukraine qualify for the World Cup play-offs by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina.

HBO Max is set to launch in a number of countries across Europe but there are no plans for a UK platform yet.The service will be available in six countries from October 26 – Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Andorra – before expanding to a following 14 in 2022.Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia will all receive HBO Max next year, while there’s no news on any plans

TIRANA, Albania -- Albanian police on Monday said they have arrested two people for allegedly hurling tear gas cannisters during a concert by a Bosnian Serb musician whom many in the country accuse of not condemning the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo.A statement said Redon Leka, 21, was arrested after hurling a tear gas cannister while songwriter and composer Goran Bregovic was performing Sunday night at the Korca Beer Fest, 165 kilometers (about 100 miles) southeast of the capital, Tirana.Another man

Marta Balaga Currently looking for funding and partners to complete post-production, Aida Begić’s fourth feature “A Ballad” is set to take a bow at Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Work in Progress section after picking up the Eurimages Co-production Development Award at the event back in 2015.

Christopher Vourlias U2 frontman Bono made a surprise appearance at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Sunday, where he introduced a digitally restored version of Wim Wenders’ “The Million Dollar Hotel” – a film the iconic rock star presented at the Bosnian fest more than 20 years ago.Addressing a full house at the Sarajevo National Theater – where fans had gathered outside for more than an hour in the blistering heat, clutching photos and singing along to U2’s hits as they waited for his arrival on

Christopher Vourlias Describing its world premiere on the opening night of the Sarajevo Film Festival as “magic,” Oscar-winning Bosnian director Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) called his latest feature “a love letter to our city,” offering it as a beacon of hope in troubled times to the people of Sarajevo.Speaking to Variety the day after the premiere, Tanović described an emotional night as his feel-good film “Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair” opened the festival’s 27th edition.“For me,

Alissa Simon Film CriticOscar-winning filmmaker Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) delivers a tasty treat with the entertaining, comic drama “Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair.” Despite being a low-budget item shot during the pandemic and finished in haste, with the visual style of a TV film, it nevertheless warmly and wittily captures the spirit of the Bosnian capital and its struggles with COVID-19.

If there was ever doubt about the resilience of the cultural sector during times of great turmoil, one only need look to the Sarajevo Film Festival to see how an industry can, quite literally, rise from the ashes. The festival began during the Bosnian War in 1995, in the midst of a near four-year siege on Sarajevo, which ravaged the capital. To this day, it remains the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.

Christopher Vourlias Mediawan Rights, the sales arm of European media group Mediawan, is ramping up its documentary slate with the addition of two new feature films, Variety has learned.Directed by Ado Hasanovic, “My Father’s Diaries” is an intimate portrait of the Bosnian War that uses 8mm footage shot by the director’s family, as well as his father’s written account of the period from the start of the war through the infamous “death march” that saw some 15,000 Bosniaks attempt to trek more

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Serbia on Sunday honored 2019 Nobel Literature Prize winner Peter Handke, who is known for his apologist views over Serbia's nationalist policies and Serb war crimes during the 1990s wars in the Balkans.The Austrian novelist and screenwriter received a state decoration from Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic, a former ultranationalist who now says he wants his country to join the European Union.