24-07-2014

FESTIVALS: Sarajevo IFF Marks 20th Anniversary

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    SARAJEVO: Nine films are competing in the feature competition of the 20th edition of Sarajevo IFF, including three world premieres.

    The documentary competition consists of 19 titles including five world premieres, while 10 short films will compete in the short film competition. The festival kicks off on 15 August and will wrap on 23 August 2014.

    Out of nine titles competing for the Heart of Sarajevo, five are debuts, such as I am Beso /Me var beso by the Georgian director Lasha Tskvitinidze, a story about growing up in a Georgian town torn between tradition and modernity; A Land of Storm /Viharsarok  by Ádám Császi which deals with homosexuality in rural Hungary; and Song of My Mother /Klama dayika min by the Turkish Erol Mintaş, which deals with the relationship between a son and his mother.

    The jury of the feature completion has Béla Tarr as president. The documentary competition will screem five world premieres, five international premieres, five regional and four national premieres.

    The portmanteau film Bridges of Sarajevo (artistic director Jean-Michel Frodon) and Kornel Mundruczo’s White God will have gala screenings. The 13 short films composing Bridges of Sarajevo will open the Competition Programme.

    The four-day CineLink Co-Production Market will open on 21 August and welcome for the first time projects from the Caucasus region and the North African and Middle Eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. CineLink Works in Progress will show six new projects in postproduction.

    The Honorary Heart of Sarajevo will go this year to Gael García Bernal, Agnès.B and Danis Tanović.

    Competition Programme – Features in competition:

    • Me var beso/I am Beso (Georgia)by Lasha Tskvitinidze
    • Klama dayika min/Song of My Mother (Turkey/France/Germany) by Erol Mintaş. Produced by Mantar Film, Arizona Films, Mitos Film
    • Three Windows and a Hanging/Tri dritare dhe njevarje (Kosovo) by Isa Qosja
    • Cure-The Life of Another/Cure-Život druge (Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Andrea Štaka. Produced by Okofilm Productions GmbH, Ziva Produkcija, Deblokada, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, ZDF/ARTE
    • A Blast (Greece, Germany, Netherlands) by Syllas Tzoumerkas. Produced by Homemade Films, unafilm, Bastide Films
    • Brides/Patardzlebi (Georgia/France) by Tinatin Kajrishvili. Produced by Germini, Millimeter Film and Adastra Films
    • The Lamb/Kuzu (Turkey/Germany) by Kutluğ Ataman. Produced by Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks, Detailfilm
    • A Land of Storm /Viharsarok (Hungary/Germany) by Ádám Császi.Produced by Proton Cinema, I’m Film, Cafe Film, unafilm production
    • Macondo (Austria) by Sudabeh Mortezai. Produced by FreibeuterFilm, supported by Österreichisches Filminstitut, Filmfonds Wien, ORF, FISA