There is a little time left until the 16th Telemach Youth Film Festival Sarajevo, which this year, although with a reduced number of films, will present the highest quality program so far and host a number of famous names from the film and music industry of the region and Europe. What do we know so far?
The festival will begin on July 19, traditionally, with a solemn opening ceremony at the Youth Theatre. The opening ceremony will be led by OFF Talents Agency talents Zan Mujkić and Ishak Isović. The festival will be opened by the film “An Organ from Jaffa” by the Palestinian director Mohammed Almughanni, and it will be shown, next to the Youth Theater, at Poli Open Air (Alija Izetbegović Square, near Ekonomije, which is the new festival open air location) and as part of the Raiffeisen Vils Open Air cinema near the museum. After this short film, there will be screenings of feature films at these two open air locations.
Telemach OFF has prepared 65 films for this year, of which 26 short films in the main OFF Shorts selection and 12 films in the OFF Generation Shorts selection. In addition, OFF announced and presented a selection of competitive feature films where eight titles will be shown: “Dormitory”, “Last Summer”, “Not A Word”, “Zlato Mamino”, “All To Play For”, “Forever, Forever”. , “Last Swim” and “Endless Sunday”.
In addition to these programs, there are also feature-length films out of competition in the OFF Retrospective selection, which brings the films “Don’t Forget to Breathe”, “Gori Vatra” and “Summer in the Golden Valley”. Unlike OFF Retrospective, which brings older film titles, OFF Screen will bring some of the best film hits from this year and the previous year, among them “Holdovers”, “Back to Black”, “The Punch” and “Winter Boy”.
This year, the Festival will also be marked by special awards that are awarded at the Festival’s opening ceremony and during the Festival itself. So far, the award for the best male role in the series has been confirmed for the young actor Lazar Dragojević, and at the press conference on July 12, Telemach OFF will present the special guests of the Festival.
When it comes to tickets, those for sale and those free to download, they also arrive on July 12 exclusively via the tickets.omladinski.ba portal, which is one of the Festival’s measures towards the Green Festival, given that Telemach OFF is adopting a three-year strategy called ” OFF Goes Green” committed to reducing print by as much as 70%.
In addition to the rich film program, Telemach OFF also this year presents OFF Buzz – the music program of the Festival, which during 8 days brings a bunch of good music and entertainment.
The festival will open the OFF Buzz Dance event with a stage in Zelenih Beretki street near Hotel Evropa, where DJ Phillip X will perform. And the party will continue in this street as well as Sima Milutinović and Branilac Sarajevo streets for 7 days after that, with DJs every night from 8 p.m. to 02:00 a.m. Entrance to these events is free, and as in previous years, everyone will be able to enjoy the entertainment in catering establishments or simply on the street, as this segment of the “Somersby Festival Party Street” program is called.
The last night of the Festival is reserved for the awarding of prizes at the Raiffeisen Vils Open Air cinema and Darko Rundek’s concert from 10:30 p.m. on the stage near the museum. Before Rundek, the young Sarajevo band Shizif will perform. Entrance is free.
It should be noted that as part of Telemach OFF, the OFF Pro Film Market is also held, a unique industrial initiative of the Festival dedicated to the development of short films. As part of the film market this year, 12 projects in development will be presented, as well as 3 days of sessions, talks and workshops. The French Embassy is the main sponsor of this program, which finances it with significant financial resources.
All information about the program, tickets and the festival guide for the audience and the film industry are available at www.omladinski.ba
OFF is held under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the KS, Visit Sarajevo, the City of Sarajevo and with the support of the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo, the Municipality of Centar and the Municipality of Stari Grad.
