Talents Sarajevo 2025 Announces Full Programme and Key Guests

The Sarajevo Film Festival is proud to unveil the full programme for the nineteenth edition of Talents Sarajevo, taking place from August 16th to 21st. As one of the leading development platforms for emerging filmmakers and critics from Southeast Europe and the Southern Caucasus, Talents Sarajevo continues to provide a space where creative exploration is met with mentorship, collaboration, and care. This year’s theme, Filming as Caring, asks not only what stories we tell, but how we tell them, and how the process itself might become more sustainable and conscious of mental well-being.

 

The programme opens with a traditional Taking Off session led by Alec von Bargen, Head of Studies at TorinoFilmLab’s ComedyLab and a creative production expert affiliated with Cannes Makers and Venice Biennale College Cinema. Currently developing his feature film THE IDIOT SON, von Bargen brings extensive experience in both creative and production roles to guide participants as they embark on the festival.

 

The Programme Opening will feature special guest Stellan Skarsgård, celebrated Swedish actor and recipient of this year’s Honorary Heart of Sarajevo. A longtime friend of the Festival, Skarsgård has appeared in over 150 films and series, from Scandinavian classics to Hollywood blockbusters and acclaimed dramas such as CHERNOBYL and DUNE. His diverse career includes collaborations with Lars von Trier, Gus Van Sant, David Fincher, and Steven Spielberg. This session will offer a rare opportunity for Talents to engage directly with one of Europe’s most prolific and versatile actors. The conversation will be moderated by Simon McBurney, renowned British theatre director, writer, actor, and founder of the acclaimed company Complicité. Alongside his groundbreaking stage work, McBurney has appeared in films such as TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION, bringing his unique presence to both indie and blockbuster roles.

 

Both Skarsgård and McBurney are also patrons of the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation, which supports emerging filmmakers whose work reflects Katrin’s bold spirit and commitment to independent cinema. Founded in memory of the late British actress Katrin Cartlidge, the Foundation appoints a different curator each year to select a promising new cinematic voice for its annual bursary. As part of the Programme Opening, the recipient of this year’s Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award will be presented, with Simon McBurney announcing the winner.

 

In addition to the eight Talents programmes, this year’s Plenary Sessions deepen the theme of Filming as Caring through intimate conversations with filmmakers, producers, and thinkers who are reshaping the conditions of creative labour. Award-winning writer-director Goran Kapetanović and producer Lejla Bešić will reflect on their experience of working between cultures, institutions, and languages as migrants in the Nordic film landscape. Louise H. Johansen, founder of Sane Cinema, brings a critical and hopeful lens on mental health in the industry, drawing from her experience as a programmer, producer, and educator. The team behind the youth drama SRAM -producer Bruno Mustić, director Jelena Gavrilović, and psychologist Mihael Kozina - will explore the challenges and responsibilities of creating content both with and for young audiences through the case study of their hit-series, which has amassed over 140 million views. Also joining the programme are students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, reflecting on their recent protests as a powerful example of care, solidarity, and resistance within the arts.

 

The Programme Closing of Talents Sarajevo will feature a special conversation with acclaimed filmmaker Dominik Moll. Initially drawn to wildlife filmmaking, Moll shifted to fiction after discovering Hitchcock, studying film in New York and Paris. He gained international recognition with WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY, which won four Césars. His recent work, THE NIGHT OF THE 12TH was a major critical and commercial success, winning seven Césars, including Best Film. Known for blending genre with sharp social commentary, Moll has also worked in television (Eden, Arte) and recently presented his latest feature, CASE 137, in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. CASE 137 will be screened as part of Open Air selection at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema.

 

As part of the Talents Sarajevo programme, participants will join a series of Festival Masterclasses with some of the most celebrated guests of this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. This year’s lineup features Paolo Sorrentino, Michel Franco, Ray Winstone, Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, and Willem Dafoe, offering Talents a rare chance to engage directly with some of the most influential voices in contemporary cinema.

 

Finally, Talents Sarajevo continues its cross-sector expansion with the Talents Innovation Forum, an open platform exploring how storytelling intersects with technology, gaming, and virtual production. This year’s guests include Madhead Games (Enis Čišić & Aleksa Todorović), sharing how cinematic storytelling meets real-world game development -including an exclusive look at the trailer for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, their latest work; Tensor (Bartol Freskura & Redžinald Šimek), whose AI platform TensorPix was recently used to restore the Sarajevo Film Festoval archives; Total Refusal (Leonhard Mullner & Robin Klengel), taking audiences on an art tour through GTA V's digital Los Santos; and OTO Family (Melania Kulczycka & Marta Krzeptowska), demonstrating how smart workflows and automation can power ambitious, low-footprint productions. Latvian duo Konstantīns Višņevskis and Mārtiņš Upītis will break down the process behind FLOW, the breakout animated feature made with Open Source tools, while Matt Subieta reflects on fusing AI and film in projects that explore memory and meaning. All talks will be moderated by Igor Simić, creative director of Demagog Studio.

 

Founded in partnership with the Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talents, Talents Sarajevo remains the most vital platform for professional development of emerging filmmakers in the region. In 2025, it continues to grow, strengthening its role as a key driver of sustainable practices, creative excellence, and regional collaboration in cinema.