24th Sarajevo Film Festival Opens Tonight

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The 24th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) will open tonight in Sarajevo with the film "Cold War" by Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski.

During the eight festival days, film lovers will be able to watch a record 266 films from 56 countries, including 52 world premieres.

The honor of opening the 24th edition of the SFF goes to the renowned Polish director Pawel Pavlikowski, who won the Palme d'Or for Best Director at the recently concluded 71st Cannes Film Festival for his work "Cold War".

The film will be presented to the audience tonight as part of the "Open Air" program, and the film's author, Pavlikowski, an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film "Ida" in 2015, will also attend the screening.

"Cold War" tells the story of a passionate love affair between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, fatefully brought together. Set during the Cold War in the 1950s in Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia, and Paris, the film "Cold War" depicts an impossible love in impossible times.

Unlike previous editions of the Festival, when Sarajevo's guests were celebrated Hollywood actors, this year's main stars will be masters "behind the camera", giants of directing such as Pawel Pawlikowski, Asghar Farhadi, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

A total of 266 films from 56 countries will be screened at this year's SFF, from August 10 to 17, in 18 programs. 

The "Open Air" program features award-winning films from the Cannes Film Festival, such as Paul Dano's directorial debut "Wildlife", then the film "Everybody Knows" by two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi ("A Separation", "The Salesman"), who is also the president of the jury for this year's Competition Program, as well as the films "Capernaum" by Nadine Labaki, "Dogman" by Matteo Garrone, "El Ángel" by Luis Ortega, and "Sink or Swim" by Gilles Lellouche.

The Feature Film Competition Program will present 10 films that will compete for the prestigious "Heart of Sarajevo" award.

The "Honorary Heart of Sarajevo" award will be presented to Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Bosnian businessman Nijaz Hastor, for their exceptional contribution to the art of filmmaking, as announced by the SFF.

The opening ceremony at the National Theatre, starting at 8:30 PM, will be hosted by actor Alban Ukaj.