How Sarajevo’s Industry Event Ensures Balkan Filmmakers Stay Relevant

In the more than two decades since it launched as the parallel industry arm of the Sarajevo Film Festival, CineLink Industry Days has established itself as the premier showcase and breeding ground for talent from the former Yugoslavia, growing its footprint in recent years to incorporate the wider region as well.

But as the global film industry continues to weather an unprecedented string of disruptions, and the looming threat of AI raises existential questions for the future of filmmaking, the pressure remains on event organizers to stay relevant — and, moreover, to ensure that in an increasingly…well, Balkanized media environment, the countries of Southeastern Europe aren’t left behind.

That’s why CineLink head Maša Marković and her team are fighting to make sure that the region’s filmmakers “are part of the international industry,” so that studio heads in Hollywood and tech titans in Silicon Valley aren’t deciding the Balkan film business’ future for it. 

“What CineLink is offering [is the promise] that we are part of the conversation, and that the filmmakers, their voices, the film funds from the region and the decision-makers are also being heard,” Marković tells Variety. “Not only that our authors are recognized, but that we have to be part of the bigger-picture talks so that we are not left behind.”

That determination underscores the broader changes afoot at the Sarajevo festival’s industry event, which one year ago moved from its traditional home in the historic Hotel Europe to the city’s modern downtown area — an acknowledgment that the long-running confab had outgrown its humble roots while also evolving into a more forward-facing event.

This year, the bulk of industry activities will again take place in the conference center of the Swissotel, as well as in the adjacent Festival Garden, which was introduced last year and — after what Marković describes as a “revamp” — will host CineLink Talks, one-on-one meetings and informal meetups. Those venues are a stone’s throw from both the Hotel Holiday, which hosts most of the festival’s international guests, and the Cineplexx multiplex that is its main screening venue, making “everything a five-minute walk” away, according to Marković.

Reflecting the event’s new look, a notable addition to this year’s CineLink line-up is the launch of the Talents Sarajevo Innovation Forum, a three-day strand focused on IP development at the intersection of filmmaking, animation and video games. 

Marković says the program’s purpose is “to open a space for new, emerging practices…and create a synergy between the gaming industry and the filmmaking industry.” She adds that both newcomers and veterans alike “have to find a way how these two industries can collaborate and learn from each other.”

A focus on the future is emphasized across the CineLink Talks program, which will spotlight some of the challenges and opportunities posed by AI — along with European efforts to regulate the new technology — while also raising questions about inclusion, sustainability and creative autonomy in contemporary filmmaking. A talk on alternative financing methods for independent cinema, meanwhile, will explore “how solidarity can compensate…when regular funding schemes are in jeopardy,” according to Marković, an especially urgent issue when public funding for the arts is increasingly under threat.

Since its inception, CineLink’s influential Co-Production Market and Works in Progress strands have helped launch award-winning titles such as László Nemes’ Oscar winner “Son of Saul,” Adina Pintilie’s Golden Bear winner “Touch Me Not” and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s two-time Academy Award nominee “Honeyland,” and this year’s edition again welcomes filmmakers from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to present their works.  

The CineLink Co-Production Market includes 14 feature-length films in development and financing, with noteworthy titles including “Two Little Nightmares,” a feature film from Croatian short film Palme d’Or winner Nebojša Slijepčević; “Agatha Candy,” the sophomore feature from Romania’s Andrei Tănase, whose debut “Day of the Tiger” premiered in Rotterdam; and “Love-45,” by Syrian French director Anas Khalaf, who directed the political thriller “The Translator.”

The Works in Progress selection features 11 films in the post-production stage, with notable titles including “The Forbidden Aunt,” a documentary from Bojana Novaković, best known for her acting credits in CBS’ “Instinct” and HBO’s “Westworld”; and “Who Are We,” from Serbia’s Miroslav Terzić, whose 2019 drama “Stitches” premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama sidebar.

Other key industry strands returning this year include CineLink Drama, a co-financing forum that will present seven high-end series from the Balkan region, as well as the CineLink Producers’ Lab, a program for emerging producers from Southeast Europe and the Southern Caucasus designed to help early-career professionals develop “the skills that are needed for people that will be leading the industry in years to come,” according to Marković. Also returning for its sophomore edition is CineLink Books, which was launched in response to growing demand for IP adaptation and will showcase six novels from the former Yugoslavia.

Collectively the events at this year’s CineLink Industry Days, which runs Aug. 16 – 21, represent a concerted effort by organizers to build on the momentum of the regional industry in a year which saw notable successes such as Croatian director Igor Bezinović winning Rotterdam’s Tiger Award with the docu-drama “Fiume O Morte!,” and Slovenia’s Urška Djukić opening the new Perspective section at this year’s Berlin Film Festival with her feature debut “Little Trouble Girls” (pictured, top). 

“The new voices are coming along, and there’s strong visibility with their presence internationally,” says Marković. She points to Djukić — a CineLink alum — as further evidence that Sarajevo remains “a place to discover new talents.”

The Sarajevo Film Festival runs Aug. 15 – 22.