Four and a half months before the opening of its 26th edition, the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) invited all aspiring film professionals in Southeast Europe and Southern Caucasus to take part in Talents Sarajevo, and exchange experiences with some of the greatest living industry professionals and experts.

The theme of the 2020 Talents Sarajevo, scheduled to take place from August 15-20, is New Beginnings. The program will welcome up-and-coming directors, producers, actors, scriptwriters, cinematographers, editors and film critics from Southeast Europe and Southern Caucasus, namely from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic adds gravitas to Talents Sarajevo’s core mission. While the global viral outbreak impacts the film industry in unprecedented ways, filmmakers must not be deprived of regional networking and cooperation platforms. This is of special importance for the emergent generation of filmmakers who will have a crucial role in the post-pandemic revival of regional cinema. Therefore, the effects of the crisis on the film industry will be in the focus of this year’s Talents Sarajevo, to be held under the title “New Beginnings”.

Film festivals are major hubs for interaction, networking and cooperation between film professionals and we hold out hope that the 2020 Talents Sarajevo participants will get a chance to gather in Sarajevo. However, the team of the 2020 Sarajevo Film Festival, including Talents Sarajevo, will continue to monitor the evolving coronavirus situation and will communicate its related decisions in the coming period.

Founded in collaboration with Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talents, over the past years, Talents Sarajevo has become the foremost regional hub for meeting and training of aspiring film professionals. In times of crisis, Talents Sarajevo will continue to provide unconditional support to aspiring film professionals from our region by supporting their creative and professional advancement and success through a programme of masterclasses, project labs, lectures, discussions and screenings.

The closing date for applications is 17 May 2020.