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The Sarajevo Film Festival will celebrate two major figures of international cinema at its 32nd edition, presenting the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo awards to Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi and acclaimed British actress Emily Watson. Taking place from August 14 to 21, 2026, the festival will honor Farhadi in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cinema. The two-time Academy Award winner will receive the award in person, while a retrospective of his work will be presented as part of the festival’s “Tribute To” program.

Festival Director Jovan Marjanović highlighted Farhadi’s global importance, stating: “It is difficult to overstate Asghar Farhadi’s significance to world cinema. His remarkable body of work reminds us that the most profound dramas are often concealed within everyday life. His films do not offer easy answers; instead, they invite us to look more closely, listen more carefully and engage with life’s complexities.”
Farhadi returns to Sarajevo eight years after serving as President of the Jury for the Feature Film Competition at the 24th Sarajevo Film Festival in 2018, when his film Everybody Knows was screened in the Open Air programme.

British actress Emily Watson will also receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo and will serve as President of the Jury for the Competition Programme – Feature Film. Returning to the festival twenty years after her previous visit, Watson will lead the jury responsible for selecting this year’s award winners. “Twenty years after her last visit to Sarajevo, we are truly delighted to welcome Emily Watson back to the festival - this time not only as the recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo, but also as President of the Competition Jury,” said Marjanović. “An actress whose talent, intelligence and dedication to the craft have left a profound mark on contemporary cinema, Emily Watson has, throughout her remarkable career, moved audiences and critics alike with performances of extraordinary emotional precision and strength.”

The festival will open with Fatherland, the new film by Oscar-winning director Paweł Pawlikowski, which completes his Cold War trilogy. The filmmaker will personally attend the gala screening on August 14, 2026.
The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will also introduce the Prix Cineplexx, a new award created in partnership with Southeast Europe’s leading cinema chain. The prize, valued at €20,000, will recognize the best film in the Open Air Premiere programme, selected by festival audiences. It includes a €15,000 marketing campaign in Cineplexx cinemas to support theatrical distribution and a €5,000 cash prize for the winning producer.

Alongside its film program, the festival will host masterclasses and industry discussions, continuing the mission launched by Obala Art Centar in 1995 to rebuild civil society and preserve Sarajevo’s multicultural and cosmopolitan spirit. Focused on cinema from Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus and Ukraine, the Sarajevo Film Festival has become the region’s leading film event, featuring competitive categories for Feature Film, Documentary, Short Film and Student Film, as well as a wide range of non-competitive sections.