The best feature film of the 24th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) is Aga, the latest achievement by Bulgarian film-maker Milko Lazarov, a four-member jury chaired by Iranian artist Asghar Farhadi announced on Thursday.

Lazarov’s film, which had its world premiere this year at the Berlin Film Festival out of competition, closed the 24th SFF’s Competition Programme. It is a moving story of Nanook and Sedna, who dream of reuniting with their daughter Aga, who left their traditional way of life.

Romanian director Ioana Uricaru won the Heart of Sarajevo for best director with her film Lemonade.

“I must share this with amazing actors. I am honoured. Now, I have the Heart of Sarajevo too. Thank you for the great festival, which gives us a lot of energy,” Uricaru said at the award ceremony.

The official part of the 24th SFF ended with the award ceremony, held at the National Theatre Sarajevo. The last day of the festival, August 17, the audience will have a chance to see all the awarded films at special screenings.

Croatian actor Leon Lucev was awarded best actor for his role in The Load movie, while the Heart of Sarajevo for best actress was handed over to Hungarian Zsofia Szamosi and her role in One Day.

“Thank you, jury. Thank you, everyone. I always have something to say but now I am lost for words. This was the hardest movie I ever filmed, with the hardest topic. It was a big responsibility,” Lucev said addressing the audience in the National Theatre.

Bosnian Ermin Bravo received the award for the best short film with his film Breath.

“Thank you to all amazing actors, they were fantastic. First of all – amazing humans. Thank you to the producers and the crew who trusted in me and in this story. I made the film and dedicated it to Sarajevo”, said Bravo adding that the award was for his mother.

The Honorary Heart of Sarajevo was earlier handed over to Turkish film-maker Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Bosnian entrepreneur Nijaz Hastor for their contribution to the film industry.

The 24th SFF hosted more than 2,600 accredited visitors, it screened 266 films from 56 countries and, according to the organiser, over 100,000 guests saw the screenings.

The SFF was founded in the 1990s while the city was still under the siege has grown into an internationally renowned festival of the region.

The full list of the 2018 award winners is available on the festival’s official website.

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