RCC’s EU-funded Western Balkans Youth Lab brings more than a dozen emerging filmmakers and film students to Sarajevo Film Festival for an intensive programme of screenings, masterclasses, industry exchanges and regional networking

Sarajevo – More than a dozen young filmmakers and film students from across the Western Balkans Six gathered today in Sarajevo for the Second Regional Conference on Youth Cultural Cooperation, held this year as the Sarajevo Film Festival Student Forum. The programme is organised by the EU-funded Western Balkans Youth Lab (WBYL), implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), in cooperation with the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF).

The Student Forum gives young people from film academies across the region the opportunity to present their work, learn directly from internationally renowned filmmakers and actors, exchange experiences with peers and industry professionals, and take part in selected Sarajevo Film Festival and Talents Sarajevo activities throughout the Festival week.

Opening the programme ahead of a screening of films by young regional filmmakers, RCC Secretary General Amer Kapetanović said that creating opportunities for young artists to meet, learn and work together was an important investment not only in culture, but also in regional cooperation.

“Talent is personal, but it rarely grows alone. It needs opportunity, space and other talented people around it. This is why we wanted to go one step further this year. Through our EU-funded Western Balkans Youth Lab, we are giving young people from across our region the chance to meet, learn, exchange ideas and build relationships that can continue long after the Festival is over. Stories shape how we see one another, and giving a new generation the space to tell their own stories is one of the most meaningful investments we can make,” said Kapetanović.

The RCC has supported young filmmakers at the Sarajevo Film Festival for almost a decade. Since 2017, the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Student Film has been under RCC patronage, supporting emerging creative voices at a formative stage of their professional development. This year, that cooperation has expanded through the EU-funded Western Balkans Youth Lab, opening a broader SFF experience to young filmmakers and students from across the region.

Seven young filmmakers, Andi Barohoxha, Ibrahim Batuhan, Arman Zrno, Erlisë Beqiri, Kaća Žarić, Kolja Vasić and Uma Zuban were selected for the opportunity to present their short films during the programme, bringing their work before fellow filmmakers, students and film professionals gathered in Sarajevo.

Participants of Second Regional Conference on Youth Cultural Cooperation will join a networking session with Talents Sarajevo participants, discussions with students from regional film academies and workshops focused on skills, career development and the future of the regional screen sector. The programme also connects them with established filmmakers, producers, screenwriters and other creative industry professionals.

They will also have the opportunity to attend some of the Festival’s most prominent masterclasses and conversations with leading names of world cinema. These include Academy Award-winning Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski, Academy Award-nominated actor Woody Harrelson, two-time Academy Award nominee Emily Watson, and two-time Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi. Participants will also attend the opening of Talents Sarajevo with actor, director and producer Diego Luna, as well as a number of other Festival and industry sessions.

Other activities within the Second Regional Conference on Youth Cultural Cooperation include a regional academy roundtable, a workshop focused on strengthening screen-sector capacity in the Western Balkans Six, sessions on collaboration between filmmakers and creative teams, adaptation from novel to screenplay, changes in the media industry, and a discussion on film, democracy and regional competitiveness.

By combining screenings, professional exchange, access to international expertise and opportunities to build contacts across the region, the Second Regional Conference on Youth Cultural Cooperation aims to give young filmmakers something that is often as important as formal training: access to people, ideas, audiences and opportunities.

The initiative builds on the first Regional Conference on Youth Cultural Cooperation held in December 2024 and continues the Western Balkans Youth Lab’s work to create spaces in which young people can connect with one another and with institutions, contribute their perspectives and take a more active role in shaping the region’s future.

*****

The Regional Cooperation Council works to advance regional cooperation, connectivity and European integration across South East Europe, with a strong focus on creating opportunities for young people. Through initiatives such as the EU-funded Western Balkans Youth Lab, RCC supports youth participation, regional exchange and the development of skills and networks that can help young people play a more active role in shaping the region’s future.

The Western Balkans Youth Lab 2 (WBYL2) is an EU-funded project implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council that promotes sustained and structured regional dialogue between young people and policy-makers.

The Sarajevo Film Festival is one of the Europe’s most established and internationally recognised film festivals, bringing together filmmakers, industry professionals, emerging talent and audiences from across Europe and beyond. Alongside its film programme, the Festival has become an important platform for professional exchange, new voices and the development of the regional film sector.