The 10th annual Talents Sarajevo program will welcome 71 up-and-coming actors, directors, DoPs, film critics, producers and scriptwriters from Southeast Europe and Southern Caucasus.
Founded in cooperation with the Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talents program, Sarajevo Talents grew over the past decade into a regional hub for meeting and training of aspiring film professionals. In addition to bringing young filmmakers together, the platform also aims to introduce them to the work of established film professionals, inform them about the latest trends in the film industry and art, and enable their entrance into the regional and international filmmaking community. The 2016 Talents Sarajevo will offer a rich Summit Program comprised of master classes, moderated debates and interactive panel discussions, complemented by PACK&PITCH and SCRIPT STATION project development labs, as well as studio programs and workshops for members of specific professional disciplines including ACTING STUDIO, CAMERA STUDIO, FILM STAGE STUDIO and TALENT PRESS.
The number of people interested to participate in this program that is tailored to the needs of the aspiring regional talents and enlists renowned film professionals as mentors and experts has been growing constantly. This year we received the record number of 374 applications, with film directors forming the majority of applicants with 168 applications.
The interest has also kept growing for participation in the Pack&Pitch segment of the program, as illustrated by 78 applications received this year compared to 19 in 2014 and 59 in 2015. This segment of the program is dedicated to film directors and producers and offers them a chance to learn - under professional mentoring - how to analyze and pitch their projects, orally or in writing, before selection juries, their colleagues and other film professionals. In addition to Pack&Pitch, a newly established interdisciplinary hands-on training program named Film Stage Studio drew the attention of scriptwriters and directors seeking to polish their dialogue development skills through an experience-based process in which a selected number of participants from all professional disciplines represented in Talents Sarajevo will take part.
Over the past three years, most applications for Talents Sarajevo were received from Turkey, Greece and Romania. Consequently, majority of Talents Sarajevo participants come from the above three countries. The reputation of the Romanian New Wave and Greek absurdist cinema, as well as the awakening interest in the film language innovations of the new generation of Turkish authors is reflected in the growing interests of young filmmakers from these three countries for participation in Talents Sarajevo. The average age of Talents Sarajevo participants over the past three years has been 28 or 29. This year, female participants will outnumber male, with 41 women and 30 men having been selected for 2016 Talents Sarajevo.
