Sarajevo Film Festival reveals jury led by Emily Watson

The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled the jury for its main feature competition, which is headed by actress Emily Watson, as previously announced.

Joining Watson are filmmakers Athina Rachel Tsangari and Igor Bezinović, actress Sara Klimoska and CEO of the European Film Academy Matthijs Wouter Knol. The winners will be announced on Aug. 21.

Tsangari, one of the leaders of the Greek New Wave, broke through with "Attenberg" (2010), which won the Coppa Volpi award for best actor and the Lina Mangiacapre directing award at Venice. "Chevalier" (2015) won best film at the London Film Festival and was nominated for best foreign film at the Independent Spirit Awards. "Harvest," a neo-western starring Caleb Landry Jones and Harry Melling, premiered in Venice competition in 2024.

Bezinović, from Croatia, is best known for "Fiume o morte!" (2025), which won the European Film Award for best documentary. His other films include the documentaries "The Blockade" (2012) and "Veruda – A Film About Bojan" (2015).

Klimoska, who is from North Macedonia, has the leading role in "Sister Brother Manhole Cover," directed by Milcho Manchevski, which is set to premiere this year. Other film credits include Goran Stolevski's "You Won't Be Alone," which premiered at Sundance, and Stolevski's "Housekeeping for Beginners," which screened at Venice.

Before joining the European Film Academy, Wouter Knol was head of programming of Berlinale Talents from 2008 to 2014, and director of the European Film Market from 2014 to 2020.

The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from Aug. 14 to 21.