Over nine days, the Sarajevo festival — born in a sandbag-protected basement during the Bosnian war — showed 174 movies from 40 countries. The Sarajevo Film Festival was first time launched near the end of the war and grew into the biggest regional film competition. Festival aims to support and promote cinema and authors in Southeast Europe and lately it attracts over 100,000 people. This year's festival welcomed big names such as Kevin Spacey, Mike Leigh, Charlie Kaufman, Sharon Mequire etc as well as regional stars and filmmakers.
Also among guests there were BRANKO LUSTIG who has been active in the film industry for almost fifty three years with professional career started with the engagement at the Jadran Film and lately in Hollywood success as multiply awarded miniseries “THE WINDS OF WAR”, Steven Spielberg joint work on the film “SCHINDLER’S LIST”, production of numerous major film hits, such as “PEACEMAKER”, Ridley Scott’s film “GLADIATOR”, long cooperation on “HANNIBAL”, “BLACK HAWK DOWN”, “KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”, “A GOOD YEAR” etc.

Another honored guest I am mentioning is TERRY GEORGE a winner of numerous awards for the films “IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER” and “HOTEL RWANDA”, including nominations for the Academy Award in the category of the best screenplay. His exceptional film works also include films “SOME MOTHER'S SON”, “THE BOXER”, “A BRIGHT SHINING LIE”, and “HART'S WAR”.

Then MIKE LEIGH a five-time Oscar nominee and the winner of three BAFTAs and many other leading film awards, 1993 Cannes Film Festival for “NAKED”, the 1996 Palme d’or for “SECRETS AND LIES”, and the Golden Lion at the 2004 Venice Festival for “VERA DRAKE”. He is also the recipient of the Special Heart of Sarajevo Award. And finally Slavoj Žižek a renowned Slovenian philosopher, sociologist, cultural critic and psychoanalyst, one of the most influential intellectuals on the international scene.

Founded by Miro Purivatra, who before the war organized cultural events in the city Sarajevo Film Festival, festival created a recognizable international film festival with specific goal of supporting and promoting regional cinematography. Festival and country is also recognized by FIAPF as a Competitive Specialized Festival since promoted its filmmakers gain prestigious film awards like the foreign-film Oscar for Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land" in 2002 and the Golden Bear in Berlin for Jasmila Zbanic's "Grbavica" in 2006.

Sarajevo Film Awards 2008
The fourteenth edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival once again celebrates films and authors of the art film today. Authors, film professionals and guests arrived to Sarajevo in honor in welcoming big names of professionals of worldwide film industry. The jury, chaired by Turkish film director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, awarded Croatian film "Buic Riviera" by director Goran Rusinovic, based on a novel by Bosnian author Miljenko Jergovic with the 25,000 euro with Heart of Sarajevo Award. It’s a Croatian film about two Bosnian immigrants who left the country during the civil war for a new life in the United States. The film tells the story of a Bosnian Muslim and a Bosnian Serb who meet on a deserted road in the United States and spend the next 24 hours together, engaging in a psychological game of mutual accusations which will change their lives for good. "Buic Riviera" was selected from 10 films from Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey which competed at the Balkan's largest film forum. Leon Lucev and Slavko Stimac were chosen for A Best Actors Award for their role in the film. The Best Actress Award went to Ayca Damagaci for her role in "My Marlon and Brando" by Turkish director Huseyin Karabey.

Competition Festival Program for a Feature Film President of the Jury:
NURI BILGE CEYLAN, a film director from Turkey and Jury members
(HUGH HUDSON, director, UK, MARIJA ŠKARIČIĆ, actress, Croatia,
MICHAEL WEBER, head of Match Factory, Germany, DEBORAH YOUNG, artistic director of Taormina Film Festival, USA/Italy) awarded with Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film:”BUICK RIVIERA” directed by Goran Rušinović provided by Council of Europe (25,000 €). The Special Jury Award went to “MARCH “directed by Austrian Handl Klaus, financial award provided by Agnes B. (10,000 €)
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress went to AYCA DAMGACI
for “MY MARLON AND BRANDO “ from Turkey, financial award provided by the International Airport Sarajevo (2,500 €). Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor went to LEON LUČEV and SLAVKO ŠTIMAC for ”BUICK RIVIERA “ Financial award sponsored by DHL (2,500 €)

Competition Program for Short Film with Jury JAY JEON, Pusan Film Festival selector, Korea ŠEJLA KAMERIĆ, artist BiH and
MICHAEL J. WERNER co-chairman Fortissimo Films, USA awarded with
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film “TOLERANTIA” directed by Ivan Ramadan
BiH, Financial award in the amount of 3,000 € provided by Sarajevo Film Festival
Special Jury Mentions went to “THE WAKE” directed by Timur Makarević
and “I KNOW” directed by Jan Cvitkovič
Slovenia, Two Special Jury Mentions in the amount of 1,000 € each is provided by Coca-Cola HBC. Special Honorary Mention went to “ERGO” directed by Geza M. Toth Hungary.

The Competition Program for – DOCUMENTARY FILM
with Jury of : MICHAEL BELTRAMI, film director from Germany, JORGE SÁNCHEZ film director of Guadalajara Film Festival, Mexico director and
DŽEMAL ŠABIĆ film director from BiH awarded with Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film for ”CORRIDOR #8 “ directed by Boris Despodov Bulgaria
Financial award provided by The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (3.000 €)
Human Rights Award went to “DIVORCE ALBANIAN STYLE “ directed by Adela Peeva, Bulgaria. Special Mention went to Serbian “FABULOUS FAIRIES” directed by Marko Jeftić .Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award went to producer Cat Villiers.
The Award is offered in recognition of the recipient’s outstanding contribution to film art and support in development of the Sarajevo Film Festival. Cat Villiers has produced such masterpieces of our region’s cinematography as Milcho Manchevski’s multiply awarded “BEFORE THE RAIN” and Danis Tanovic’s “NO MAN’S LAND” a film that carried the 2002 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Radmila Djurica