Bosnian crime drama “I Know Your Soul” by Jasmila Žbanić – who directed the Golden Bear-winning “Grbavica” and the Oscar-nominated “Quo Vadis, Aida?” – and Damir Ibrahimović – who produced those films – was named best drama series at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival on Sunday. “Smashing It” was named best comedy show.
Eight series were nominated in 14 categories. The entries came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia. The awards were decided by a jury of more than 500 filmmakers from the region.
“I Know Your Soul” dominated the drama category, winning seven Heart of Sarajevo awards, including Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Jasna Đurčić, the European Film Award for “Quo Vadis, Aida?”, Best Supporting Actress for Jelena Kordić Kuret, Best Supporting Actor for Mirvad Kurić, Rising Star for Lazar Dragojević, Best Screenplay for Žbanić and Elma Tataragić, and Best Director for Nermin Hamzagić.
Đuričić plays Nevena Murtezic, a prosecutor in the midst of a divorce and a single mother to her son Dino (Dragojevic). The suicide of a teenager triggers an avalanche of events in her professional and personal life, as she finds it increasingly difficult to juggle her relationship with Dino and a job under constant public and political pressure.
HBO Max has acquired the series for the Central and Eastern Europe region. Beta Film is responsible for the distribution rights. Deblokada and BH Content Lab are producing for BH Telecom. The series had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year.
The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series was posthumously awarded to Žarko Laušević for his role as Živojin Mišić in the series Time of Death.
Smashing It, created by Elma Tataragić, Dušan Vranić, Enes Zlatar and Amra Bakšić Čamo, won the award for Best Comedy, Heart of Sarajevo. The series also won awards for Best Actor (Alen Muratović) and Best Screenplay (Elma Tataragić, Dušan Vranić and Enes Zlatar).
The series “Radio Mileva”, created by Nebojša Garić, won three Heart of Sarajevo Awards in the comedy categories: Best Actress for Olga Odanović, Rising Star for Kris Gavrić and Best Director for Elmir Jukić.
During the award ceremony, Christof Papousek, co-owner of Constantin Film Holding and CFO and managing partner of Cineplexx International, and producer Philippe Bober, founder of Coproduction Office, were presented with Sarajevo Honorary Awards by the President of the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mirsad Purivatra.
