Sandra Wollner’s Everytime won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Narrative Feature Film at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. Ana Urushadze was named Best Director for the Türkiye co-production Supporting Role, while Sis Gürdal’s Porkatal received a Special Mention in the Narrative Short Film Competition.

The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival concluded with its official awards ceremony at the National Theatre Sarajevo, where the Hearts of Sarajevo and the festival’s special awards were presented.

During the ceremony, Emir Hadžihafizbegović, one of the most prominent actors in Bosnian-Herzegovinian and regional cinema, received the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo in recognition of his memorable performances and overall contribution to the art of film.

The festival’s film programme concluded with a screening of the restored version of Danis Tanović’s Academy Award-winning film No Man’s Land.

Alongside Hadžihafizbegović, actors Emily Watson, Diego Luna and Woody Harrelson and director Asghar Farhadi were among this year’s Honorary Heart of Sarajevo recipients for their exceptional contributions to cinema.

Photos are taken from Sarajevo Film Festival official web-site.

Everytime takes the festival’s top prize

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Narrative Feature Film went to Sandra Wollner’s Everytime. Produced by Lixi Frank, Viktoria Stolpe and David Bohun, the Austrian-German co-production received a prize of €16,000.

The jury, chaired by Emily Watson, reached its decision unanimously. It highlighted the film’s moments of cinematic grace, its elastic sense of time and its transcendent approach to a ghost story steeped in grief.

Closely followed by Sinefil Atak throughout the festival, Everytime emerged as one of the competition’s most striking explorations of grief, guilt, memory and the pressure to perform happiness. In our Sarajevo interview, Sandra Wollner discussed the film’s emotional world, its relationship with time and the characters’ experiences of loss.

Ana Urushadze named Best Director for Türkiye co-production Supporting Role

Ana Urushadze received the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Director for Supporting Role / Meorekharişxovani Roli. The Georgian-Estonian-Turkish co-production drew the jury’s attention with its irreverent combination of the banal and the dreamlike, as well as its curiosity about meaning in life and cinema.

The €10,000 award was sponsored by the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with UNESCO.

Eva Kostić was named Best Actress for her performance in 17. The jury praised the young actor’s fearless and instinctive performance, which brought an extraordinary sense of emotional truth to the role.

Adrian Văncică took home the Best Actor award for his understated and rigorous performance in You Don’t Belong Here / Nu E Locul Tău Aici.

Special Mention for Sis Gürdal’s Porkatal

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Narrative Short Film went to Tamara Todorović’s Nobody Said Anything / Nitko Ništa Nije Rekao. The jury highlighted its ability to create compelling characters within a limited running time while steadily building tension towards its final act.

The Turkish-French-British co-production Porkatal, directed by Sis Gürdal, received a Special Mention in the Narrative Short Film Competition.

The jury praised the film’s poetic and deeply emotional atmosphere, its gradual exploration of the protagonist’s inner world and a central performance that felt both natural and profoundly moving.

Documentary competition winners

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Feature Film went to To Hold a Mountain / Planina, directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić. The jury praised its epic cinematography and moving portrait of two women fighting to protect a mountain and a disappearing way of life. The film also received Oscar-qualifying status.

Karla Jelić’s Holy Defiance / Tiha Misa won Best Documentary Short Film, while Zhora Papoian’s The Ferry Flows / Parom Plyve received the Documentary Competition’s Special Jury Award.

Gender equality award for 17

Kosara Mitić’s 17 received the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality. The jury recognised its uncompromising portrayal of systemic neglect, sexual abuse, female youth trauma and patriarchal toxicity, as well as the powerful sense of female solidarity at the heart of the film.

Helena Maksyom’s Don’t Ask Me If I Killed received a Special Mention in the same section.

The Special Youth Perspectives Award went to Dina Duma’s Skateboarding Is Not for Girls / Skejtanjeto Ne E Za Devojchinja. The film was recognised for its warm, intergenerational story about family, belonging and young people’s freedom to make their own choices in the face of tradition and social expectations.

Lebanese filmmaker Lana Daher received the 2026 Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award.

Winners of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival

• Best Narrative Feature Film: Everytime – Sandra Wollner
• Best Director: Ana Urushadze – Supporting Role
• Best Actress: Eva Kostić – 17
• Best Actor: Adrian Văncică – You Don’t Belong Here
• Best Documentary Feature Film: To Hold a Mountain – Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić
• Best Documentary Short Film: Holy Defiance – Karla Jelić
• Documentary Special Jury Award: The Ferry Flows – Zhora Papoian
• Best Narrative Short Film: Nobody Said Anything – Tamara Todorović
• Narrative Short Special Mention: Porkatal – Sis Gürdal
• Best Student Short Film: Unwellness – Réka Pinczés
• Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality: 17 – Kosara Mitić
• Gender Equality Special Mention: Don’t Ask Me If I Killed – Helena Maksyom
• Special Youth Perspectives Award: Skateboarding Is Not for Girls – Dina Duma
• Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award: Lana Daher