54 minutes ago
European Film Academy CEO and Director Matthijs Wouter Knol, Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, head Igor Bezinović and character Sara Klimoska will each subordinate Emily Watson to caput up nan Jury of nan Competition Program astatine nan upcoming Sarajevo Film Festival.
Watson, who is coming disconnected nan backmost of playing Mary Shakespeare successful Chloé Zhao’s adjustment of Maggie O’Farrell’s humanities novel Hamnet, will preside nan assemblage this year. She joins a group of movie auteurs who person antecedently presided complete nan show successful past editions, including Sergei Loznitsa (2025), Paul Schrader (2024), Mia Wasikowska (2023), Ruben Östlund (2019), Asghar Farhadi (2018), Michel Franco (2017), Mike Leigh (2004) and galore more.
Watson’s notable movie credits see Lars von Trier’s Breaking nan Waves and Hilary and Jackie, some of which earned her Oscar nominations for Best Actress, A24’s God’s Creatures opposite Paul Mescal, Small Things Like These, Gosford Park, Punch-Drunk Love, The Theory of Everything and more. She has conscionable wrapped nan 2nd play of HBO/Max series Dune: Prophecy.
Last twelvemonth she was awarded nan Richard Harris Award astatine nan 2025 BIFAs, which recognized her outstanding publication to British Film. Other accolades see nan Joseph Plateau Honorary Award astatine Gent Film Festival, nan Lifetime Achievement Award astatine nan San Sebastian International Film Festival and Best Actress BAFTA grant for her domiciled in Appropriate Adult. Watson received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her activity successful nan HBO/Sky mini-series Chernobyl in 2019.
Wouter Knol has been CEO and Director of nan European Film Academy since 2021 and is responsible for nan executive guidance and imagination of each related programming of existent and early activities of nan Academy, including marque and assemblage development, knowledge sharing and movie practice projects and nan yearly European Film Awards.
He has worked arsenic a imaginative and subordinate shaper connected 30 award-winning docs, moving pinch board specified arsenic Heddy Honigmann, Maria Augusta Ramos and Mani Kaul. For ARTE, he co-produced a digitial version of 40 re-mastered useful of Dutch documentarian Johan van der Keuken, which was awarded nan Prix Cahiers owed Cinéma successful 2006.
After a short stint astatine IDFA, he had 12 years astatine nan Berlinale team, first arsenic Head of Programming of Berlinale Talents and past arsenic Director of nan European Film Market. After launching respective caller training and manufacture platforms complete nan people of his career, Wouter Knol is an advocator for much diversity, equity and inclusion, introducing schemes to support this astatine Berlinale Talents, EFM and nan European Film Academy.
Director-screenwriter-producer Tsangari is considered a main instigator of nan Greek New Wave. Her genre-bending films research powerfulness and desire successful gender and class. Her 2001 feature The Slow Business of Going, a sci-fi roadworthy movie changeable successful edifice rooms crossed 9 cities astir nan world, went connected to triumph respective Best Film and Best Director awards worldwide and caller resides successful MoMA’s imperishable movie collection.
Her sophomore feature Attenberg premiered successful Venice’s title strand, wherever it won nan Coppa Volpi and nan Lina Mangiacapre Directing award. Her 2015 film Chevalier won Best Film astatine nan BFI London Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Film astatine nan Independent Spirit Awards. Both films were Greece’s charismatic submissions for Best International Film astatine nan Academy Awards.
She has produced a number of award-winning films done her Athens-based banner Haos Film, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinetta and Alps, Georgis Grigorakis’ Digger and she was besides a co-producer connected Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight. Her latest feature Harvest, a neo-western starring Caleb Landry Jones and Harry Melling, premiered successful Venice In Competition successful 2024.
Croatian filmmaker Bezinović’s film Fiume o morte! won galore awards, including nan European Film Award for Best Documentary arsenic good arsenic Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay astatine nan Adriatic Film & TV Awards.
His different useful see documentaries The Blockade and Veruda – A Film About Bojan, some of which received nan Oktavijan Award for Best Croatian Documetnary Film. His debut feature A Brief Excursion, premiered astatine Rotterdam and went connected to triumph nan Grand Golden Arena for Best Film astatine nan Pula Film Festival.
North Macedonian character Klimoska is coming disconnected nan backmost of starring successful Milcho Manchevski’s Sister Brother Manhole Cover. It marks her 3rd collaboration pinch nan head after Willow and Kaymak. Her further movie credits include: You Won’t Be Alone, by Goran Stolevksi, which premiered astatine Sundance; Housekeeping for Beginners, which screened astatine Venice; Things Unsaid by Eleonora Veninova; and The Erl-King by Goran Radovanović among others.
She’s been portion of nan Talents Sarajevo programme astatine nan Sarajevo Film Festival and Berlinale Talents. In 2022, she was nominated for a Heart of Sarajevo grant for her domiciled successful TV series Underneath. The twelvemonth before, she was recognized arsenic a European Shooting Star for her capacity in Lena and Vladimir. Klimoska is now venturing into directing and penning and is presently processing her 2nd short film Chained.
The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will return spot August 14-21, 2026.
