Sudabeh Mortezai’s Europa is one of 10 feature world premieres set to screen in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival next month (August 11-18).
Europa is the fifth feature from Austrian-Iranian filmmaker Mortezai, and follows an ambitious executive working at a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkans. Mortezai’s previous feature Joy debuted at Venice in 2018; while her 2014 title Macondo premiered at the Berlinale.
Five of the 10 titles in the feature film competition are directed by women. Also having its world premiere in the feature film competition is Christina Ioakeimidi’s Greek title Medium, which has participated in Thessaloniki’s Agora works-in-progress and Bulgaria’s Sofia Meetings.
Scroll down for the full list of feature films
Regional premieres in the section include Sofia Exarchou’s Animal, coming to Sarajevo from a Locarno premiere; and Elene Naveriani’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry.
The seven feature world premieres in the documentary film competition include Eylem Kaftan’s A Day, 365 Hours, about two women who have been abused, and join together to take on their abusers in court.
This year’s festival received 935 submissions, including 200 fiction features, 235 documentaries, and 500 short and student titles. This is up 22.9% on last year’s 761 submissions.
The Sarajevo competition programme is open to films and filmmakers from 21 Eastern European nations, including the Balkan countries, Austria, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Eleven prizes are on offer across the four competition sections, including the four feature film awards: best film, director, actress and actor. Mia Wasikowska will head the feature film jury.
As previously announced, Mark Cousins will receive an honorary award, with the festival also playing a ‘Tribute to’ programme for Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner, screening her six feature films including this year’s Cannes title Club Zero.
Sarajevo Film Festival 2023 competition – feature films
Feature Film competition
Europa (Austria) dir. Sudabeh Mortezai*
Medium (Gr) dir. Christina Ioakeimidi*
Freedom (Rom-Hun) dir. Tudor Giurgiu
Animal (Gr-Aus-Rom-Cyp-Bul) dir. Sofia Exarchou
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (Geo-Switz) dir. Elene Naveriani
Day Of The Tiger (Rom-Fr-Gr) dir. Andrei Tanase
La Palisiada (Ukr) dir. Philip Sotnychenko
Lost Country (Ser-Fr-Cro-Lux-Qat) dir. Vladimir Perisic
Excursion (Bos/Her) dir. Una Gunjak – out of competition
Guardians Of The Formula (Ser-Slovenia-Mont-N Mac) dir. Dragan Bjelogrlic – out of competition
Rumi (Tur) dir. Can Ulkaj – TV series*
Documentary film
A Day, 365 Hours (Tur-Cro) dir. Eylem Kaftan*
Body (Slovenia-Cro-N Mac) dir. Petra Seliskar*
Bottlemen (Ser-Slovenia) dir. Nemanja Vojinovic*
Fairy Garden (Hun-Rom-Cro) dir. Gergo Somogyvari*
Requiem To The Hot Days Of Summer (Geo-Gr) dir. Giorgi Parkosadze*
Silence Of Reason (Bos/Her-N Mac) dir. Kumjana Novakova*
What’s To Be Done? (Cro) dir. Goran Devic*
My Muslim Husband (Rom) dirs. Daniel Ioan Barnuti, Alexandra Lizeta Barnuti
De Facto (Austria-Ger) dir. Selma Doborac
Non-Aligned: Scenes From The Labudovic Reels (Ser-Fr-Cro-Mont-Qat) dir. Mila Turajilic
Between Revolutions (Rom-Cro-Qat-Iran) dir. Vlad Petri
We Will Not Fade Away (Ukr-Fr-Pol-US) dir. Alisa Kovalenko
* - world premiere
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