March 11-31, 2021 (part 1)
Absolutely rich
programme, exceptional participants!
A quarter of a century after the start of the Music Film Fest in 1997, the Sofia International Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary. Started as a thematic festival of cinema and music, which has undergone upward development over the years, Sofia Film Festival has become one of the most important film events in Central and Eastern Europe, the only Bulgarian film festival accredited by FIAPF, included in the list of 50 best unmissable film events in the world and in the calendar of FIPRESCI.
The SFF has hosted a galaxy of world filmmakers, including Wim Wenders, Alan Parker, Nikita Mikhalkov, Volker Schlondorf, Agnes Varda, Jiri Menzel, Costa Gavras, Terry Gilliam, Emir Kusturica, Otar Yoseliani, Bille August, Krzysztof Zanussi, Agnieszka Holland, Hugh Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, Rupert Everett, Franco Nero, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Jerry Schatzberg, Danis Tanovic, Pavel
Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić
SARAJEVO: The already fragile film industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been severely shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cinema attendance dropped by 70% compared to 2019 results, almost all production has been moved to 2021 and, as there is still no Cinema Law or Film Centre in the country, filmmakers could only count on themselves to try and weather the storm.
Several professional associations, the Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sarajevo Film Festival in the first place, are trying to cover as many as possible of the development and promotional needs that should be handled by a film centre inside the country and abroad, but it is a question of time, especially if this unfavourable situation continues, till they will have to give up on this and concentrate on their primary missions only.