PRESS RELEASE : Fostering new collaborations at 30th Sarajevo Film Festival [August 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 19 August 2024.

This week in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), we are fostering new collaborations and promoting GREAT UK creative industries at 30th Sarajevo Film Festival.

The United Kingdom is pleased to join celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Sarajevo Film Festival, an iconic annual event for the world’s film and creative communities.

This year, the United Kingdom will promote mutually beneficial opportunities for collaboration with world-leading British experts.

The British Embassy Sarajevo, the British Council and the British Film Institute (BFI) will again be partnering with the Sarajevo Film Festival to support BiH creative talent.

British Ambassador Julian Reilly said:

We are proud of the UK’s longstanding association with the Sarajevo Film Festival. We are determined to nurture spaces where creative individuals and artists from various walks of life can come together, discuss art and culture, generate new ideas and build new collaborations .

This year, the UK‘s lead organisation for film and the moving image, the British Film Institute, will bring a delegation of 9 UK screen professionals to engage with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Southeast Europe professions and develop potential innovative collaborations with the region.

The BFI’s Head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds, Denitsa Yordanova, will join a panel discussion on collaborative opportunities, funding strategies and the exchange of creative resources with the UK.

Ambassador Reilly will host a reception for British and regional film professionals to cement their mutual relationships and promote the UK creative industry. Nine British productions and co-productions will be screened during this year’s Festival.

Ambassador Julian Reilly added:

Creative industries have a very important role in the UK. Our creative industries are worth £125 billion in economic value to the country as a whole, employing 2.4 million people.

Film and the TV sector is worth nearly £19 billion to the UK annually and provides more than 200,000 jobs. The cultural and creative industries can be a fantastic driver of economic growth, at the same time fostering cultural identity and diversity.

I am glad that the UK has for a while now been building closer relations and collaboration between the creative sectors of our countries. Our world-leading creative industry brings energy, ambition and economic opportunity, inspires new ways of thinking and doing, and invites you to see things differently.

We want Bosnia and Herzegovinian and Southeast European creatives to visit and collaborate with us.

The United Kingdom and the Sarajevo Film Festival have worked together since the first phases of the Festival. Many prominent UK artists, film directors and producers such as Mike Leigh, Jeremy Irons, Lesley Manville, Katrin Cartlidge, Stephen Frears, Mike Goodridge, Simon Wilkinson, Olivia Hetreed, Selina Ukwuoma, Kevin Dolan, Steve Matthews, have shared their wide experience and knowledge at previous festivals.

Numerous British movies were aired on the Sarajevo Film Festival screens, and major figures in British film including John Cleese, Mike Leigh, Mark Cousins, Cat Villiers, Stephen Frears, and Tim Roth have been awarded the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.

Through PlayUK, a British Council platform for improving film audio-visuals in the Western Balkans, UK experts have shared their knowledge on visual effects, virtual reality, film production and marketing.

The British Council was one of the initial partners of CineLink, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry platform. CineLink Industry Days offers valuable insight and access to the film industry, particularly within the region and many UK experts have contributed to this platform.

The United Kingdom hopes that this year’s strong engagement will lead to even more UK–BiH partnerships in the future, supporting economic growth and the development of the arts in both our countries.

During the Sarajevo Film Festival, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to learn more about the GREAT UK creative industry and about our cooperation with the Sarajevo Film Festival at the British Embassy Sarajevo  Facebook and Instagram pages.