SARAJEVO (Hollywood Today/AFP) -The Sarajevo film festival, born during a war that it outlasted by a decade, opened its 13th outing on Friday with controversial director Michael Moore, quirky actor Steve Buscemi and French actress Juliette Binoche.
Some 175 films will be shown from some 40 countries including 16 world premieres.
The nine-day festival kicked off with the world premiere of “It Is Hard to be Nice” by Bosnian director Srdjan Vuletic.
Instead of just a statuette, winners get $30,000 for best film and best actors get $3,000 from a jury chaired by Oscar-winning British actor Jeremy Irons. A special jury award worth $14,000 is also on offer.
Only 10 films produced in southeastern Europe are competing for the awards.
The festival was launched by a group of enthusiasts in 1995 during the three-and-a-half-year siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces. Despite its troubled beginnings it has become the biggest such event in the Balkans.