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    • New Talents Open Call
      Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call
    • ENFF 2023 On Demand!
      Unable To attend the festival in person? No problem! From November 27th to December 3rd, we’re thrilled to bring you a curated selection of this year’s films available for online viewing! Catch our captivating Opening Film Ivan’s Land, or the touching Closing Film Seventh Heaven. Or explore a collection of shorts from the New Talents Competition! Follow along… Read more: ENFF 2023 On Demand!
    • What’s up in Slovak Cinema? A conversation with Monika Lostakova
      We talked with Monika Lošťáková about contemporary Slovak cinema.
    • ENFF and the Eastern European Film Festival Network!
      The Eastern European Film Festival Network brings together five film festivals dedicated to promoting and showcasing Eastern European cinema, alongside one partner organisation.
    • Masterclasses
      Through these masterclasses we approach two memory in film from different angles: memories from a personal or collective recollection through archive material.
    • Work in Progress
      In Work in Progress, emerging filmmakers and artists will present their works in development to the audience and engage in discussions with Dutch experts.
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    • Music at ENFF
      Every year, ENFF brings special musical guests who bring beauty to the program and further represent the rich cultures of their countries to a Dutch audience.
    • Film Marathon
      Join us for the Film Marathon, a new concept in which we merge two components, Short Films, Big Stories, and New Talents Competition into a whole-day screening of short films!

Lights of Sarajevo

After receiving standing ovations at the world premiere during the Sarajevo Film Festival, the film started gaining fans abroad as well. It is a story of Sarajevo and its famous 50 years old cultural monument Skenderija told through music, lyrics and the memories of one of the cult rock bands of former Yugoslavia “Zabranjeno pusenje”.

Synopsis

The narrator, Sejo Sexon, leader of “Zabranjeno pusenje”, takes us on a nostalgic journey to the time when Sarajevo was the music centre of former Yugoslavia and when “Zabranjeno pusenje” was first formed. Sexon allows the audience into his most intimate moments and talks about his life and the life of the band, bringing back memories of his childhood and teenage dreams, all the ups and downs of the band leading up to the war, and to the post-war period when the band was triumphantly back on the music scene. In 2019, the band celebrated its 35th birthday as well as the 50th birthday of the Skenderija hall by throwing a concert to remember all its loyal fans.

SVJETLA SARAJEVA

Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2022 | 78 min

DIRECTOR: Srdjan Perkic

PRODUCTION: Amra Hadzihafizbegovic Deovic – Imaginarium; Al Jazeera, BH Telecom

SCREENPLAY: Davor Sucic (Sejo Sexon), Srdjan Perkic

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Srdjan Perkic

EDITING: Tomislav Josipovic

SOUND: Toni Lovic

SCREENING: Friday 25 November / 21:30h / Zaal 4 & Saturday 26 November / 22:00h / Zaal 5

The screening will be followed by Q&A with director Srdjan Perkic. Dutch Premiere

Director’s statement

Sexon told an intimate and sincere story with details he never previously shared in the media. I remember my young production team laughing and crying at the same time while reading the script… We threw ourselves into the project with our heart and soul and without a completed budget. Had we not been so brave, the film would never have seen the light of day.

Director’s bio

Srđan Perkić was born in Sarajevo in 1971. He is a photographer and a creative director. Since 1994, he has been living and working in Italy. In 2008, he formed the “Gruppo Pragma” marketing agency and has worked on many different projects as well as national and international campaigns.  A few years later, he started the „Prontacasa“ project together with Goran Dizdar, an architect from Sarajevo. Today, “Prontacasa” is one of the leading European brands in 2D/3D space visualisations. In 2019, he founded “NAVA – not a video agency” which creates commercial videos. “Lights of Sarajevo” is his first documentary film.