SARAJEVO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A record number of 266 films will be screened in the official selection of 24th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), SFF director Mirsad Purivatra announced here on Monday.
At a press conference held in a local cinema, Purivatra started by saying that he believed the SFF programs will offer an insight into everything that is happening in BiH, the region and the world.
"It is particularly important to note that this year we have 52 world and 23 international premieres, which shows the trust producers and directors have in SFF," Purivatra explained.
The festival will kick off on Aug. 10 with the opening movie "Cold War" by Oscar-winning Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. The film tells a love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatally mismatched and yet fatefully condemned to each other.
Speaking about guests, Purivatra said that Iranian writer-director and two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi will be president of the jury. The audience will have an opportunity to see Farhadi's latest film "Everybody knows", which premiered in the competition program of the Cannes Film Festival.
This year's SFF will be closed by "The Spy Who Dumped Me" film. It tells a story of two best friends, Audrey and Morgan, who unwittingly became entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovered the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.
Launched in 1995, the SFF has become a major cultural event in the Balkan region. The 24th Sarajevo Film Festival is scheduled to open on Aug. 10 and run until Aug. 17.
