One of the longest-running film festivals and prestigious platform for art house films, the Locarno Film Festival has unveiled the official lineup for its 71st edition and Sarajevo Film Academy (SFA) made the selection of this festival. Short film Grbavica, written and directed by our talented DLA candidate Manel Raga Raga was selected to the Locarno’s Pardi di Domani: Concorso Internazionale. It screens shorts and medium-length films by young independent auteurs or film school students who are consider as a crucible of future talent and who have not yet tried their hand at feature films.

Produced by Sarajevo Film Academy in collaboration with C.R.I.M. (Portugal) and La Foradada Films (Spain), Grbavica is a free adaptation of the short story A Fratricide by Franz Kafka. Producers are SFA director Emina Ganić, Joana Ferreira and Manel Raga Raga. The film was shot was shot entirely in Sarajevo, in its neighborhood Grbavica near the Miljacka river, and it was made under the big influence this neighborhood had on the director. Using all local film professionals and non-professional actors, film was shot in Bosnian language.

Manel's work found itself among the 29 titles chosen this year at Locarno, where it will have its premiere. Bosnia and Herzegovina is represented among 26 countries from four continents. We are proud to share Manel's success and we look forward to seeing the film in Locarno.

With films selected to 68th Berlinale Film Festival and 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 71st Locarno Film Festival is the third major European film festival SFA entered this year. 

Late applicants for the BFA program still have the opportunity to submit their work until July 31, 2018 in order to secure one of the late applicant slots. Sarajevo Film Academy will release on August 3, 2018 the finale list of candidates for the upcoming Academic Year 2018/19.