Kroatische film wint door de Raad van Europa gesponsorde hoofdprijs bij het Festival van Sarajevo (en)
Press release - 593(2008)
Croatian film wins Council of Europe sponsored top prize at Sarajevo Festival
Strasbourg, 25.08.2008 - A Croatian film about two Bosnians who leave their country during the 1992-95 war for a new life in the United States, has won the Council of Europe sponsored award as the best movie of the 14th Sarajevo Film Festival on Saturday, 23 August.
"Buick Riviera" by director Goran Rusinovic was chosen as the best film by the international jury, chaired by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, winner of the Best Director Award. at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
The film tells the story of two immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hasan, a Bosniak, and Vuko, a Serb, who meet on a deserted road in the United States. They spend the next 24 hours together, engaging in a psychological game of mutual accusations which will change their lives for good, just like the war and the post-war situation they had both fled from.
"Buick Riviera" was selected from 10 films from Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey which competed in the features' programme of the Balkans' largest film forum. Leon Lucev and Slavko Stimac were chosen as best actors for their role in the film.
The director of the winning film received a heart-shaped award - the "Heart of Sarajevo"- and a cash prize of 25,000 euros.
In total, some 174 films and documentaries were screened within the festival's twelve programmes.
The Sarajevo Film Festival was launched towards the end of the war in the Balkans and grew into the region's biggest film competition.
Being very active in South-Eastern Europe, the Council of Europe considers the Sarajevo Film Festival a natural choice for promoting its activities, recognising mutual goals of educating people through films, supporting artistic creation and freedom of expression and promoting its values of cultural diversity and mutual respect.
The Council of Europe also recognises that directors from South-Eastern Europe whose films are selected for the Sarajevo Film Festival have been choosing themes that correspond largely to the Council of Europe's values, most dealing with social commentary and human rights.
Website of Festival
Press contacts :
Council of Europe Press Division: Ulvi Akhundlu, Tel. +33 3 88 41 26 38; E-mail: Ulvi.Akhundlu@coe.int
Sarajevo Film Festival, Press office: Tel: + 387 33 209411, E-mail: press@sff.ba
Council of Europe Press Division
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
pressunit@coe.int
www.coe.int/press