The Sarajevo Film Festival marked a new milestone last week with the first Special Youth Perspectives Award, established in cooperation with the Council of Europe. The award was presented during the gala closing ceremony of the 31st edition of the festival on 22 August, highlighting the important role of this cooperation initiative in promoting cultural dialogue, social engagement, and youth empowerment.
For giving voice to youth from a small locality, the jury selected the film DJ Ahmet, by Georgi M. Unkovski, which is a co-production of North Macedonia, Czechia, Serbia and Croatia. It is about young people challenging their community and traditions, and is a light-hearted and humorous but highly moving story, enriched with endearing and lively performances by the young actors and colourful cinematography, with the potential to reach audiences, especially younger ones, around the world.
Following the awards ceremony the winners and the jury received special congratulations on behalf of the Council of Europe from the Council of Europe's Director for Democracy Matjaž Gruden and the Head of the Council of Europe's Office in Sarajevo Bojana Urumova.
Ms Urumova stated, "Renowned filmmakers and international stars keep saying that Sarajevo is lucky to have one of the best film festivals in the world. We cannot but agree that there is a special spirit and magic about this festival, the largest in Southeast Europe. This year, the new Youth Perspectives Award gave recognition to DJ Ahmet. This prize gives a much-needed boost to talented storytellers, whose voices deserve to be heard and will undoubtedly resonate with audiences well beyond the region."
During the CineLink Industry Days part of the festival Mr Gruden underlined education's essential role in protecting creativity and democracy in the digital age, particularly for younger generations.
The Sarajevo Film Festival's key co-production and networking platform also presented two Council of Europe awards: the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award and the Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award for promising feature films and drama series projects, providing much needed support to filmmakers, and strengthening creativity and cross-border collaboration in Southeast Europe's film and television industries.
The Special Youth Perspectives Award, including a prize of 7,500 euros, will be presented annually until 2027. It is designed as a cross-section award that recognises works highlighting the voices, experiences, and perspectives of youth on urgent contemporary issues - from democracy and human rights to climate change, migration, and the digital transition.
