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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

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.