Heart of Sarajevo
Award
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The Heart of Sarajevo (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Srce Sarajeva / Срце Сарајева) is the highest prize awarded in all the competition categories at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
| Heart of Sarajevo Srce Sarajeva / Срце Сарајева | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sarajevo |
| Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Presented by | Sarajevo Film Festival |
| First award | 1995 |
| Currently held by | Everytime, Sandra Wollner by Sandra Wollner |
| Website | www |
Heart of Sarajevo
The official Heart of Sarajevo have been awarded since 2004, and the 10th anniversary of the Sarajevo Film Festival. Its design, as a visual identity for the festival, was chosen in 2004 from the shape that has been in informal circulation since the very beginning of the festival in the early 1990s, a heart designed by French fashion designer Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé a.k.a. Agnès B., a friend and patron of the Sarajevo Film Festival.[1] The awards for 31st Sarajevo Film Festival were announced on 22 August 2025.[2]
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Feature Film
| Year | Film | Original title | Director(s) | Nationality of director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Breaking the Waves | Breaking the Waves | Lars von Trier |  Denmark |
| 1997 | My Life in Pink | Ma Vie en Rose | Alain Berliner |  Belgium |
| 1998 | I Stand Alone | Seul contre tous | Gaspar Noé |  France |
| 1999 | December 1–31 | Dezember, 1-31 | Jan Peters |  Germany |
| 2000 | Bleeder | Bleeder | Nicolas Winding Refn | Denmark |
| 2001 | No Man's Land | Ničija zemlja | Danis Tanović |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2002 | Saturday | Sábado | Juan Villegas |  Argentina |
| 2003 | Fuse | Gori vatra | Pjer Žalica | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2004 | Mila from Mars | Mila ot Mars | Zornitsa Sofia |  Bulgaria |
| 2005 | Lady Zee | Leydi Zi | Georgi Djulgerov | Bulgaria |
| 2006 | Fraulein | Das Fräulein | Andrea Staka |  Switzerland |
| 2007 | Takva: A Man's Fear of God | Takva | Özer Kızıltan |  Turkey |
| 2008 | Buick Riviera | Buick Riviera | Goran Rušinović |  Croatia |
| 2009 | Ordinary People | Obični ljudi | Vladimir Perišić |  Serbia |
| 2010 | Tilva Roš | Tilva Roš | Nikola Ležaić | Serbia |
| 2011 | Breathing | Atmen | Karl Markovics |  Austria |
| 2012 | Everybody in Our Family | Toată lumea din familia noastră | Radu Jude |  Romania |
| 2013 | In Bloom | Grdzeli nateli dgheebi | Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß |  Georgia |
| 2014 | Song of My Mother | Annemin Şarkısı | Erol Mintaş | Turkey |
| 2015 | Mustang | Mustang | Deniz Gamze Ergüven | Turkey |
| 2016 | Album | Albüm | Mehmet Can Mertoğlu | Turkey |
| 2017 | Scary Mother | Sashishi deda | Ana Urushadze | Georgia |
| 2018 | Ága | Ága | Milko Lazarov | Bulgaria |
| 2019 | Take Me Somewhere Nice | Odvedi me na neko lijepo mjesto | Ena Sendijarević | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2020 | Exile | Exil | Visar Morina |  Kosovo |
| 2021 | Great Freedom | Große Freiheit | Sebastian Meise | Austria |
| 2022 | Safe Place | Sigurno mjesto | Juraj Lerotić | Croatia |
| 2023 | Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry | Shashvi shashvi maq'vali | Elene Naveriani | Georgia |
| 2024 | Three Kilometres to the End of the World | Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii | Emanuel Parvu | Romania[3] |
| 2025 | Wind, Talk to Me | Vetre, Pričaj Sa Mnom | Stefan Đorđević | Serbia[4] |
| 2026 | Everytime | Sandra Wollner | Austria[5] | |
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Director
| Year | Director | Film | Nationality of director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Emanuel Pârvu | Meda or The Not So Bright Side of Things | Romania |
| 2018 | Ioana Uricaru | Lemonade | Romania |
| 2019 | Emin Alper | A Tale of Three Sisters | Turkey |
| 2020 | Ru Hasanov | The Island Within |  Azerbaijan |
| 2021 | Milica Tomović | Celts | Serbia |
| 2022 | Maryna Er Gorbach | Klondike |  Ukraine |
| 2023 | Philip Sotnychenko | La Palisiada | Ukraine |
| 2024 | Yorgos Zois | Arcadia |  Greece, Bulgaria,  USA |
| 2025 | Ivana Mladenović | Sorella di Clausura | Romania, Serbia,  Italy |
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actress
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actor
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Short Film
| Year | Film | Original title | Director(s) | Nationality of director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Copy Shop | Copy Shop | Virgil Widrich | Austria |
| 2002 | 10 Minutes | 10 minuta | Ahmed Imamović | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2003 | The Wallet | Le portefeuille | Vincent Bierrewaerts | Belgium |
| 2004 | Me, Myself and the Universe | Ich und das Universum | Hajo Schomerus | Germany |
| 2005 | Before Dawn | Hajnal | Bálint Kenyeres |  Hungary |
| 2006 | Good Luck Nedim | Sretan put Nedime | Marko Šantić |  Slovenia |
| 2007 | Waves | Valuri | Adrian Sitaru | Romania |
| 2008 | Tolerantia | Tolerantia | Ivan Ramadan | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2009 | Party | Tulum | Dalibor Matanić | Croatia |
| 2010 | Yellow Moon | Žuti mjesec | Zvonimir Jurić | Croatia |
| 2011 | Mezzanine | Mezanin | Dalibor Matanić | Croatia |
| 2012 | The Return | Kthimi | Blerta Zeqiri | Kosovo |
| 2013 | Shadow of a Cloud | O umbra de nor | Radu Jude | Romania |
| 2014 | The Chicken | Kokoška | Una Gunjak | Croatia |
| 2015 | A Matter of Will | Biserna obala | Dušan Kasalica |  Montenegro |
| 2016 | Transition | Tranzicija | Milica Tomović | Serbia |
| 2017 | Into the Blue | U plavetnilo | Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović | Croatia |
| 2018 | Breath | Dah | Ermin Bravo | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2019 | The Last Image of Father | Poslednja slika o ocu | Stefan Đorđević | Serbia |
| 2020 | Antiotpad | Antiotpad | Tin Žanić | Croatia |
| 2021 | Everything Ahead | Sve što dolazi | Mate Ugrina | Croatia |
| 2022 | Amok | Amok | Balázs Turai | Hungary |
| 2023 | 27 | 27 | Flóra Anna Buda | Hungary |
| 2024 | Absent | Noksan | Cem Demirer | Turkey |
| 2025 | Winter in March | Lumi Saadab Meid | Natalia Mirzoyan | Armenia, Estonia, France, Belgium |
| 2026 | Nobody Said Anything | Niko nista nije rekao | Tamara Todorović | Serbia, France, Slovenia, Croatia |
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Student Film
| Year | Film | Original title | Director(s) | Nationality of director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Clean | Čistoća | Neven Samardžić | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2018 | Last Call | Last Call | Hajni Kis | Hungary |
| 2019 | Sherbet | Šerbet | Nikola Stojanović | Serbia |
| 2020 | The Great Istanbul Depression | Büyük İstanbul Depresyonu | Zeynep Dilan Süren | Turkey |
| 2021 | Summer Planning | Planuri de vacanță | Alexandru Mironescu | Romania |
| 2022 | It's Not Cold For Mosquitoes | Nije zima za komarce | Josip Lukić and Klara Šovagović | Croatia |
| 2023 | Falling | Falling | Anna Gyimesi | Hungary |
| 2024 | The Smell of Fresh Paint | Miris sveze farbe | Nađa Petrović | Serbia |
| 2025 | Tarik | Adem Tutić | Serbia | |
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Documentary Film
| Year | Film | Original title | Director(s) | Nationality of director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Facing the Day | Što sa sobom preko dana | Ivona Juka | Croatia |
| 2007 | Interrogation | Informativni razgovori | Namik Kabil | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2008 | Corridor No. 8 | Коридор No. 8 | Boris Despodov | Bulgaria |
| 2009 | The Caviar Connection | Kavijar konekšn | Dragan Nikolić | Serbia |
| 2010 | The Seamstresses | Shivackite | Biljana Garvanlieva |  North Macedonia |
| 2011 | A Cell Phone Movie | Mobitel | Nedžad Begović | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2012 | Turn Off the Lights | Lumea in patratele | Ivana Mladenović | Serbia |
| 2013 | Sickfuckpeople | Хворісукалюди | Juri Rechinsky | Ukraine |
| 2014 | Naked Island | Goli | Tiha K. Gudac | Croatia |
| 2015 | Toto and His Sisters | Toto şi surorile lui | Alexander Nanau | Romania |
| 2016 | A Mere Breath | Doar o răsuflare | Monica Lãzurean-Gorgan | Romania |
| 2017 | City of the Sun | Mzis qalaqi | Rati Oneli | Georgia |
| 2018 | Srbenka | Srbenka | Nebojša Slijepčević | Croatia |
| 2019 | When the Persimmons Grew | Xurmalar Yetişən Vaxt | Hilal Baydarov | Azerbaijan |
| 2020 | Merry Christmas, Yiwu | Merry Christmas, Yiwu | Mladen Kovačević | Serbia |
| 2021 | Landscapes of Resistance | Pejzaži otpora | Marta Popivoda | Serbia |
| 2022 | Museum of the Revolution | Muzej revolucije | Srđan Keča | Croatia |
| 2023 | Bottlemen | Flašaroši | Nemanja Vojinović | Serbia |
| 2024 | A Picture to Remember | Olga Chernykh | Ukraine | |
| 2025 | Our Time Will Come | Unsere Zeit Wird Kommen | Ivette Löcker | Austria |
| 2025 | To Hold A Mountain | Córki góry | Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić | Montenegro |
Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Short Documentary Film
| Year | Film | Original title | Director(s) | Nationality of director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | We, ... Composition | We, ... Composition | Visar Jusufi | Kosovo |
| 2023 | Valerija | Valerija | Sara Jurinčić | Croatia |
| 2024 | Like A Sick Yellow | Si e verdhë e sëmurë | Norika Sefa | Kosovo |
| 2025 | The Men's Land | კაცების მიწა | Mariam Khatchvani | Georgia |
| 2026 | Holy Defiance | Tiha misa | Karla Jelić | Croatia |
Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award
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Since 2005, the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo has been also awarded to individuals who have contributed to the development of the festival, as well as regional film in general, term which comprise filmmaking in broad area of Former Yugoslavia, Balkans, and Southeast Europe.[1] In 2016, the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for lifetime achievement was introduced. Its first recipient was Robert De Niro.[6][7][8]
| Year | Winner | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Marco Müller | Director of Rome Film Festival |
| 2006 | Gavrilo Grahovac | Former Minister of Culture and Sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Mike Leigh | Film director | |
| 2007 | Steve Buscemi | Actor and film director |
| 2008 | Cat Villiers | Film producer |
| 2009 | Manfred Schmidt | Executive director of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung |
| 2010 | Morgan Freeman | Actor and producer |
| Dieter Kosslick | Director of Berlin International Film Festival | |
| 2011 | Angelina Jolie | Actress and film director |
| Jafar Panahi | Film director | |
| Emil Tedeschi | President of Atlantic Grupa | |
| 2012 | Branko Lustig | Film producer |
| 2013 | Roberto Olla | Executive director of Eurimages |
| Béla Tarr | Film director | |
| 2014 | Gael García Bernal | Actor |
| Danis Tanović | Film director | |
| Agnès Troublé | Fashion designer | |
| 2015 | Atom Egoyan | Film director |
| Benicio del Toro | Actor | |
| 2016 | Robert De Niro | Actor, film director and producer Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Stephen Frears | Film director | |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart | Former Deputy Chief of Mission and Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| 2017 | John Cleese | Actor and film producer |
| Oliver Stone | Film director and producer | |
| 2018 | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Film director |
| Nijaz Hastor | Owner and founder of the ASA Prevent Group and founder of the Hastor Foundation | |
| 2019 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Film director |
| Isabelle Huppert | Actress | |
| Paweł Pawlikowski | Film director | |
| Tim Roth | Actor | |
| 2020 | Michel Franco | Film director |
| Mads Mikkelsen | Actor | |
| 2021 | Wim Wenders | Film director |
| 2022 | Jesse Eisenberg | Actor |
| Sergei Loznitsa | Film director | |
| Ruben Östlund | Film director | |
| Paul Schrader | Film director | |
| 2023 | Mark Cousins | Film director |
| Charlie Kaufman | Film director and writer | |
| Lynne Ramsay | Film director | |
| 2024 | Alexander Payne | Film director |
| Meg Ryan | Actress | |
| Elia Suleiman | Film director and writer | |
| John Turturro | Actor | |
| 2025 | Paolo Sorrentino | Film director, screenwriter, and writer |
| Stellan Skarsgård | Actor | |
| Ray Winstone | Actor | |
| Willem Dafoe | Actor | |
| 2026 | Emily Watson | Actress |
| Asghar Farhadi | Film director and screenwriter | |
| Diego Luna | Actor, director, and producer | |
| Emir Hadžihafizbegović | Actor | |
| Woody Harrelson | Actor |
See also
- Sarajevo Film Festival
- 31st Sarajevo Film Festival
- Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress in a Drama Series
- Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress in a Comedy Series
- Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival
- Silver Bear and other awards at the Berlin International Film Festival
- Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival
- Golden Lion, the highest prize awarded at the Venice Film Festival