City Sarajevo Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Tara Karajica In Brigitta Kanyaro’s debut feature, “Vagabondess,” the Romania-native Austria-based director takes her protagonist Camelia, a millennial mom, on the road in a bid to prevent her daughter from meeting her biological father. The road trip allows the film to explore issues of motherhood and migration in the age of fourth-wave feminism and TikTok. The film features in the Co-Production Market of Cinelink, the industry section of Sarajevo Film Festival, and is looking to woo co-producers.

Without a doubt, Charlie Kaufman is one of the most unique writers in modern film. Every time he has a new project, fans are always expecting a new, interesting spin on something we’ve seen before.

Sporting a grey WGA-branded “strike” t-shirt, writer-director Charlie Kaufman led a packed-out masterclass this morning in the main hall of the Bosnian Cultural Center at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “The Hollow” won the Heart of Sarajevo Award for best TV drama series at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Sunday, and also came away with a host of other awards. The in-competition series came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Slovenia.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The jury for the Docu Talents From the East Award, presented Sunday as part of CineLink Industry Days at the Sarajevo Film Festival, split the award between two projects: “A Picture to Remember” by Ukrainian director Olga Chernykh and producer Regina Maryanovska-Davidzon, and the Czech-Slovak co-production “Chronicle” by Martin Kollar. The award comes with a cash prize of $5,000. Eight documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe, planned for theatrical release during the next 12 months, were presented in the program, which is curated by the Ji.hlava Intl.

The Heart of Sarajevo awards for TV series, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s awards strand for TV shows, unraveled this evening, and they were dominated by two shows, the Serbian comedy Mom and Dad Are Playing War 2 (Tata Se Igraju Rata 2) and the Bosnian drama The Hollow (Kotlina).

Tara Karajica In her sophomore feature, contemporary fairytale “Rift in the Ice,” Serbian director Maja Miloš revisits the underbelly of Serbian society and explores women’s integrity and sexuality in the harsh reality of contemporary Serbia. The film is a co-production between Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Netherlands and Montenegro, and features in the works-in-progress section of Cinelink, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry program. It is hoping to woo partners and funds for completion.

Bono surprised attendees at the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia with an a cappella rendition of Bob Marley‘s ‘Redemption Song’ – watch the moment below.The frontman and The Edge were present at the film festival for a special screening of U2‘s Kiss The Future documentary when the legendary Irish vocalist hopped on the mic to serenade the crowd.Fans quickly joined in to sing along to the track after Bono unexpected belted out the opening lines to the Bob Marley classic. Watch a clip of the performance below.#Bono & #TheEdge at the #SarajevoFilmFestival for #KissTheFuture: "Redemption Song"Video © @28th_sff"When Bono's voice meets the silver screen.

Christopher Vourlias It’s a welcome sight for any longtime visitors returning to Sarajevo, the white-jacketed waiters circling the terrace of the majestic, Austro-Hungarian-built Hotel Europe as film and TV industry professionals parse scripts and close deals amid the espresso-fueled chatter. Around them a haze of cigarette smoke hovers like the mist that settles each morning over the green hills that ring this scenic Bosnian city.

Christopher Vourlias U2 frontman Bono made a surprise appearance Friday night at the opening ceremony of the Sarajevo Film Festival, with the Irish pop star leading a rapturous crowd in a cappella rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” The legendary vocalist, appearing alongside bandmate the Edge, took the stage after an emotional screening of “Kiss the Future,” director Nenad Cicin-Sain’s documentary, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, about U2’s relationship with war-torn Sarajevo in the 1990s. Based on American-born aid worker Bill Carter’s “Fools Rush in: A Memoir,” the film chronicles the band’s efforts to publicize the plight of the city’s besieged civilians during the Bosnian War.

Bono made a surprise appearance at the Sarajevo Film Festival this evening, where he accompanied the crew behind the U2-inspired Bosnian war documentary Kiss The Future, which opened the festival. 

Tara Karajica At times Bosnia and Herzegovina has looked like it was stuck in a bit of a no-man’s land when it comes to film production, lacking the financial fire-power to press forward, but its TV series business is booming. The Southeast European country boasts two Oscar nominations – Danis Tanović’s “No Man’s Land,” which nabbed a statuette in 2002, and Jasmila Žbanić’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” which was nominated in 2021 – and its filmmakers have enjoyed success on the festival circuit, but it still hasn’t upped its meagre level of production, especially in terms of fiction features, with only one or two majority Bosnian films produced a year.

Tara Karajica In Sudabeh Mortezai’s provocative fifth feature, “Europa,” the Vienna-based director follows ambitious executive Beate from Europa, a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkans by seemingly promoting philanthropy and investment in underdeveloped areas. What Europa actually needs is to buy land from the locals in a remote Albanian valley. The film plays in Competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Christopher Vourlias When the Sarajevo Film Festival returned to full strength last year after successive, slimmed-down pandemic editions, a robust turn-out was to be expected. For nearly three decades, the audience-facing event has been the cultural lifeblood of the lively, cosmopolitan city it calls home. The 2022 edition broke attendance records set in 2019, and just days after its online ticketing system launched this month, the fest appears on pace to surpass that mark again.

In the three years since the Sarajevo Film Festival launched its Heart of Sarajevo TV awards, much has changed in the Balkan region’s television sector thanks to investment from regional telecom companies in the local production space. Companies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s BH Telecom, the main sponsor of this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, and Telecom Serbia have been flexing their financial muscle in a space that undercapitalized public broadcasters and once confident-but-now-nervous global streamers are yet to enter.

The Sarajevo Film Festival has long been the biggest showcase of Southeast European cinema and this year’s edition, which unspools on August 11, is on course to be its most reflective and regionally focused edition yet. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The lineup for Docu Talents From the East – a showcase of standout documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe that are in post-production – has been unveiled. Eight documentary projects will be presented on Aug. 13 at Sarajevo Film Festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor French-based sales agency Lightdox has acquired the international rights to feature documentary “Body” by Slovenian director and screenwriter Petra Seliškar ahead of its world premiere at the 29th edition of Sarajevo Film Festival. The trailer for the film has just been released (below). The film screens on Aug.

Christopher Vourlias Wide Management has acquired world sales rights to Christina Ioakeimidi’s “Medium,” a story of first love set against the stifling heat of an Athenian summer that world premieres Aug. 14 in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Based on a novel by Giorgos Sibardis, the film follows 16-year-old Eleftheria (Aggeliki Beveratou), who escapes the suffocating reality of the Greek countryside to visit her pregnant sister (Katerina Zisoudi) in Athens.

Writer-director Charlie Kaufman is set to be honored with the Sarajevo Film Festival’s career achievement Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award during the festival’s upcoming 29th edition.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Screenwriter and director Charlie Kaufman will receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, in recognition of his contribution to the art of filmmaking. The festival will also hold an open-air screening of 2002’s “Adaptation,” which was written by Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze.

The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled its official selection for this year’s edition, with Elene Naveriani’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry among the titles playing in Competition.

Livingston striker Bruce Anderson could be set for a move to the Georgian top flight.

Mia Wasikowska To Head Sarajevo JuryActress and director Mia Wasikowska (Bergman Island) will head the Competition jury at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. Wasikowska will be joined by actor Zlatko Burić, actress Danica Ćurčić, director and actor Juraj Lerotić, and Josh Siegel, curator of MoMA’s Department of Film. “I’m thrilled to serve as Jury president for the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival alongside such wonderful members of the international arts community,” Wasikowska said. “It seems a particularly poignant time to reflect on the origins of the festival, and to celebrate the importance of coming together to promote a diverse range of cultures, perspectives, and experiences through art.”

Every new parent deserves a little time away from the kids.

When supervising locations manager Andrew Buckley was looking for the right location to shoot Matthew Vaughn’s third instalment of the Kingsman franchise The King’s Man, Turin sprung to mind. They were coming to the end of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, where they were shooting in Italy’s Aosta mountains in a place called Courmayeur. 

With many European countries stepping up their offerings to lure in foreign projects, the last few years Italy’s Piedmont region has been quietly becoming an attractive option for Hollywood and international productions to set up camp. In a few weeks, Universal will release the tenth instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast X, of which 10 days was shot on the streets and city center of Turin, the region’s capital city, and around 150 of its 500-strong crew were locals. Michael Mann’s long-gestating Ferrari also was hosted by the Piedmont region last year. 

The Tribeca Festival has its opening-night, closing-night and centerpiece films.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Memento International has boarded Vladimir Perisic’s Serbian film “Lost Country” which will have its world premiere at Cannes’ Critics Week. Set in Serbia in 1996, “Lost Country” unfolds during the student demonstrations against the Milosevic regime. Story follows 15-year-old Stefan who has to confront his beloved mother, spokesperson and accomplice of the corrupted government that his friends are rising against. The cast is lead by Serbian debuting actor Jovan Ginic and Jasna Djuricic, the actor of Oscar-nominated film “Quo Vadis Aida.” “Lost Country” was penned by Vladimir Perisic and celebrated French writer-director Alice Winocour, whose latest film “Revoir Paris” earned Virginie Efira the Cesar award for best actress.

Bono kicked off his spring 2023 run of his Stories of Surrender shows in New York City and we have the full set list available!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mariëtte Rissenbeek, who heads over the Berlin International Film Festival along with Carlo Chatrian, has decided to step down after next year’s edition. Rissenbeek’s contract expires in March 2024, and she has opted to not renew it, according to the German culture ministry, which is the main financier of the festival. German Culture Minister Claudia Roth said she regretted Rissenbeek’s decision, but praised her for prompting a “generational change” within the leadership of the cultural institution. Rissenbeek, an industry veteran who previously worked as managing director of promotion agency German Films, has reached retirement age in Germany (at 67). The executive will step down after the 74th edition of the festival which she’s due to prepare with Chatrian.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent U.S.-Lebanese actor Tony Shalhoub, who played the “defective detective” on “Monk,” is set to star as former auto mogul-turned-fugitive Carlos Ghosn in a high-profile TV series directed by Michael Winterbottom. Ghosn is the French-Lebanese-Brazilian former CEO of automakers Nissan and Renault who in 2020 jumped bail and absconded to Beirut hidden in a music case on a private jet while on trial in Japan for alleged financial misconduct. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. The six-part series titled “Fall of the God of Cars” is written by Winterbottom, the prolific British director of “Welcome to Sarajevo,” whose TV work comprises hit sitcom series “The Trip” and, more recently, “This is England” starring Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson.

Michael Winterbottom has devoted much of his filmmaking career to revisiting real-life events through works blurring the boundaries between documentary and drama to various degrees.  

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Watching “Kiss the Future,” a documentary about the band U2’s relationship with wartorn Sarajevo in the 1990s, it’s hard not to think: “We’ve seen this movie before.” That’s not to do with the doc itself so much as how aspects of the 30-year-old footage from Bosnia’s brutal civil war parallel what we’ve seen in the news coverage coming out of Ukraine for the past year. Both involve stranger-than-fiction (or stranger-than-fascism) scenarios of cosmopolitan cities suddenly subject to state terrorism, which makes the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck-produced film coincidentally timely, for all its belatedness. In a sense, “Kiss the Future” is the story of a long-distance romance, between a superstar rock quartet reaching its peak and a once-grand metropolis that’s bottoming out. In the early ’90s, genocidally minded Serbian president Slobodan Milošević tried to subject the happily mixed population of Sarajevo to ethnic cleansing by any means necessary. The area’s young people fought back in whatever spirit-lifting way they could — including founding underground discos, forming punk bands and otherwise keeping the arts alive as they dodged shelling and snipers. An American activist, Bill Carter, had the idea to enlist the stadium-filling U2 in publicizing their plight, which led to nightly satellite appearances by Sarajevo locals on the giant screens of the “Zoo TV” tour’s European leg.

U2 frontman Bono put in a surprise appearance at the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday evening to pay tribute to Steven Spielberg as the film director received the event’s Honorary Golden Bear for Life Achievement.

The Irish director and musician John Carney once made a movie under the working title “Can a Song Save Your Life?,” though the name was changed before it was released. And another batch of Dublin musicians of note ask a similar question in the documentary “Kiss the Future,” which premiered on Sunday at the Berlin International Film Festival and finds U2 using music to aid the occupants of a city under siege, Sarajevo.Directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain, produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Sarah Anthony and written by Bill S.