A total of 51 films will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo 2026 awards across four sections at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. The selection includes 21 world premieres, while one additional documentary will be screened out of competition.

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The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival has announced the line-up for its Narrative Feature, Documentary, Narrative Short and Student Short Film competition programmes.

The selection comprises 21 world premieres, six international premieres, one European premiere and 23 regional premieres. One film screening out of competition will have its Bosnia and Herzegovina premiere.

Four Türkiye-linked productions are included in this year’s competition. Ana Urushadze’s Supporting Role will compete in the Narrative Feature section, while Morteza Atabaki’s 32 Meters and Ahmet Seven’s For Life are part of the Documentary Competition. Sis Gürdal’s short film Porkatal will have its world premiere in Sarajevo.

Led by Sarajevo Film Festival Creative Director Izeta Građević, the selection team evaluated 1,215 submissions: 210 narrative features, 305 documentaries and 700 narrative and student short films.

Nine Films Selected for the Narrative Feature Competition

Programmed by Elma Tataragić, the Narrative Feature Competition comprises nine films: one world premiere, one international premiere, one European premiere and six regional premieres.

Six of the nine selected films are directed by women. The programme brings together family dramas, coming-of-age stories, socially engaged narratives and formally experimental works.

The selected films are:

• Everything That’s Wrong with You, directed by Urša Menart – World premiere
• Small Things, directed by Zvonimir Jurić – International premiere
• Skateboarding Is Not for Girls, directed by Dina Duma – European premiere
• 17, directed by Kosara Mitić – Regional premiere
• Dua, directed by Blerta Basholli – Regional premiere
• Everytime, directed by Sandra Wollner – Regional premiere
• Shame and Money, directed by Visar Morina – Regional premiere
• Supporting Role, directed by Ana Urushadze – Regional premiere
• You Don’t Belong Here, directed by Florin Șerban – Regional premiere

Ana Urushadze’s Supporting Role, a co-production between Georgia, Estonia and Türkiye, is among the nine films competing in the section.

The winner of the Heart of Sarajevo 2026 for Best Narrative Feature Film will receive €16,000. Awards will also be presented for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor.

Twenty-One Documentaries Compete for the Heart of Sarajevo 2026

The Documentary Competition, programmed by Rada Šešić, features 21 competing films alongside one out-of-competition screening. The programme consists of 13 feature-length documentaries and eight documentary shorts.

Nine films will have their world premieres, four their international premieres and eight their regional premieres at the festival.

Feature-Length Documentaries

• Bear with Me, directed by Martin Genovski
• Good People, directed by Milcho Manchevski
• The Balkan Cowboy, directed by Dragana Jurišić
• The Forbidden Aunt, directed by Bojana Novaković
• We Shall Live Together, directed by Damir Markovina
• Don’t Ask Me If I Killed, directed by Helena Maksyom
• Fragments of Belonging, directed by Tatjana Božić
• When I Get Out, directed by Metod Pevec
• 32 Meters, directed by Morteza Atabaki
• Bugboy, directed by Lucas Paleocrassas
• Electing Ms Santa, directed by Raisa Răzmeriță
• For Life, directed by Ahmet Seven
• To Hold a Mountain, directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić

Two Türkiye-linked films will compete in the feature documentary section. Morteza Atabaki’s Türkiye–Iran–Qatar co-production 32 Meters and Ahmet Seven’s For Life will both have their regional premieres in Sarajevo.

Short Documentaries

• Bro Ram, directed by Branko Schmidt
• Fahrudin, directed by Alen Drljević
• Of Light Ghosts, directed by Isabella Fellinger
• The Captain and the Caspian Sea, directed by Turkan Huseyn
• Dear Orchid, directed by Hana Selena Sokolović
• Asparagus Bear, directed by Ivan Grgur
• Holy Defiance, directed by Karla Jelić
• The Ferry Flows, directed by Zhora Papoian

Yugo Goes to America, directed by Filip Grujić and Aleksa Borković, will be screened out of competition.

The winner of the Heart of Sarajevo 2026 for Best Documentary Feature Film will receive €4,000 and qualify for consideration for the Academy Awards®. The programme will also present awards for Best Short Documentary Film and the Special Jury Prize.

Five World Premieres in the Narrative Short Film Competition

Ten films were selected for the Narrative Short Film Competition from more than 700 narrative and student short film submissions. The programme includes three animated films and seven live-action productions.

Five films will have their world premieres in Sarajevo, while the other five will have their regional premieres.

The selected films are:

• Ditch, directed by Marianna Vas
• Hidden in Frame, directed by Anna Sarukhanova
• Mamama, directed by Danica Dakić
• Patch, directed by Luka Galešić
• Porkatal, directed by Sis Gürdal
• Adgwa-Ata, directed by Zsuzsanna Kreif
• Cosmonauts, directed by Leo Černic
• Go Outside and Hug a Tree, directed by Irina Alexiu
• Motherhood, directed by Anca Damian
• Nobody Said Anything, directed by Tamara Todorović

Sis Gürdal’s Porkatal, a co-production between Türkiye, France and the United Kingdom, will have its world premiere at the festival. The film follows six-year-old Engin, who has lived in prison with his mother since birth.

Seven of the ten selected films are directed by women. The winner of the Heart of Sarajevo 2026 for Best Narrative Short Film will receive €2,500 and qualify for consideration for the Academy Awards®. One title from the programme will also be nominated as a European Film Academy short film candidate.

Eleven Emerging Filmmakers Compete in the Student Section

Programmed by Asja Krsmanović Imamović, the Student Short Film Competition features 11 films. Six will have their world premieres, one its international premiere and four their regional premieres.

The selected films are:

• Hyena, directed by Fanny Rösch
• Neighbour, directed by Dan Grabnar
• Sisters, directed by Sara Ećimović
• The Go-Between, directed by Emir Solaković
• Unwellness, directed by Réka Pinczés
• Water Walls, directed by Bianka Szelestey
• The Future Is in Your Hands, but Why Not Lend It to the Specialists?, directed by Alexandra Schinteie
• A. Wants Out (On Neutrality), directed by Zorah Berghammer
• Bonefuzz, directed by Márk László
• Over the Threshold, directed by Tara Gajović
• Rabbit Don’t Run, directed by Maximilian Conway and Elisabeth Jakobi

The winner of the Heart of Sarajevo 2026 for Best Student Short Film will receive €1,000.

Sarajevo Film Festival Director Jovan Marjanović described the competition line-up as an indication of the direction in which regional cinema is developing, highlighting the filmmakers’ creative boldness, diverse artistic approaches and the strength of contemporary film production across Southeast Europe.

The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 14 to 21 August 2026.