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 which included Advisory Council Bureau member Anja Jokić, selected the film DJ Ahmet, by Georgi M. Unkovski, which is a co-production of North Macedonia, Czechia, Serbia and Croatia. The film is about young people challenging their community and traditions. It is a light-hearted and humorous yet highly moving story, enriched with endearing and lively performances by young actors and colourful cinematography. It has the potential to reach audiences, especially younger ones, around the world.
After the awards ceremony, the winners and the jury members received special congratulations 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.
“The Youth Perspectives Special Award represents a continuation of the long-standing partnership between the Council of Europe and the Sarajevo Film Festival. It celebrates and acknowledges the essential role that young people play in protecting and strengthening our democracies, by uniting two of our strategic domains: culture and youth,” said Gruden.
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. These initiatives have provided film-makers with much needed support and contributed to strengthening creativity and cross-border collaboration within the film and television industries in Southeast Europe.
The Special Youth Perspectives Award, including a prize of 7,500 euros, will be presented annually until 2027. Designed as a cross-section award, it recognises works that highlight the voices, experiences, and perspectives of young people on urgent contemporary issues – from democracy and human rights to climate change, migration, and the digital transition.
