The Sarajevo Film Festival has announced that its 18th edition (July 6-14) will open with Aida Begić’s Children Of Sarajevo, which will have its world premiere in the Cannes Un Certain Regard section.

The film is a story of two orphans of the Bosnian war who struggle in the transitional Bosnian society. The older, 23 year-old sibling Rahima finds comfort in Islam, hoping to help her 13 year-old brother Nedim to follow in her footsteps, but an incident with a local strongman triggers a chain of events that reveals to Rahima that her brother leads a double life.

Children Of Sarajevo is a co-production between Bosnia’s Film House, Germany’s Rohfilm, France’s Les Films De L’Apres Midi and Turkey’s Kaplan Film. Marija Pikić and Ismir Gagula play the lead roles, alongside Aleksandar Seksan, Nikola Đuričko, and Jasna Ornela Bery. Pyramide Distribution handles the international rights.

Begić’s debut film Snow won the Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prix in 2008 and opened that year’s edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival.

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