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The 19th edition of Sarajevo Film Festival’s training program, Talents Sarajevo, has unveiled its mentors, who include Isaure Pisani-Ferry, co-creator of Disney+’s “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld.”

The program will be attended by 63 up-and-coming film professionals, drawn from 17 countries. They will be grouped into eight labs: Acting Studio, Directors Summit, Script Station, Camera Studio, Producers Summit, Editing Studio, Talent Press and Pack and Pitch. Each is led by distinguished mentors.

Croatian actor Goran Bogdan is the mentor for Acting Studio. He is known for his roles in “Fargo,” “Father” and “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent,” winner of the 2024 Palme d’Or for best short and Oscar nominated.

The newly reimagined Directors Summit introduces the “One Day From Competition” concept, bringing together filmmakers whose work is featured in the competition program of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival. Through sessions with Kukla (“Fantasy”), Vladimir Tagić (“Yugo Florida”), Stefan Đorđević, Georgi M. Unkovski...

The South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles has wrapped its 20th edition with the presentation of jury and audience awards.

DJ Ahmet, directed by North Macedonian filmmaker Georgi M. Unkovski, won SEEfest’s Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film.

“A lyrical coming of age story set in a Yuruk village in North Macedonia – manages to be both deeply relatable and rapturously original,” wrote the jury, comprised of Tessa Blake, Robert Bailey, and Marlis Pujol. “With beautiful and evocative cinematography and nuanced storytelling, Georgi M. Unkovski (writer/director) captures the universal pain of a young man trying to find his place in the world. Utilizing the deeply specific details of the setting, Unkovski creates a rich and complex experience, saturating us in Ahmet’s point of view. The performances are gorgeous allowing the film to envelop the audience in its humanist grace.”

‘DJ Ahmet’

DJ Ahmet, starring Arif Jakup,...

Exclusive: Actor, clean energy advocate and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger will receive the Legacy Award from the South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, the opening night of the 20th edition of the festival.

“The Legacy Award is honoring an iconic movie star, who began his trailblazing immigrant journey from an Austrian village nestled 16 miles from the Slovenian border in Styria region, dubbed the ‘Green Heart of Austria,’” SEEfest said in a release. “Known globally for championing clean energy and rallying world’s leaders to this cause through the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, Arnold Schwarzenegger has channeled his star power into a powerful campaign for the cleaner, greener future.”

SEEfest’s board of directors said in a statement, “Mr. Schwarzenegger has approached the challenge of building not just better but also a kinder future with hope for the new generation with his customary determination and relentless optimism.

Exclusive: Films Boutique has boarded world sales on Hasan Hadi’s Iraqi debut feature The President’s Cake, which was selected for Cannes sidebar Directors’ Fortnight earlier this month.

Written by Hadi, the film is set in 1990s Iraq and follows nine-year-old Lamia, who is selected for the intimidating role of baking Saddam Hussein’s birthday cake. She must use her wits and imagination to gather the ingredients to make the mandatory cake, or face the consequences.

Filmed entirely in Iraq, the Iraq-us-Qatar co-production is produced by US producer Leah Chen Baker, whose credits include Sundance 2022 feature Palm Trees and Power Lines.

The film follows a 15-year-old shepherd whose life in a remote North Macedonian village is transformed by his encounter with electronic dance music. The young protagonist is withdrawn from academic life by family duty and thrust into a world of agricultural labor, where the weight of tradition looms large. This early disruption sets the stage for a narrative that contrasts the enduring routines of rural existence with the disruptive force of modern sound.

A critical moment emerges when a missing sheep triggers unforeseen events. This accident leads him to an unsanctioned gathering where the throb of electronic beats shatters the quiet of his familiar environment. As the story progresses, his bond with a local girl deepens.

Her personal struggles with imposed marital arrangements mirror his silent wish to break free from long-established customs. Their interaction casts a new light on the limitations imposed by their conservative setting.

The plot alternates...

When a society or community is steeped in rigid values and customs, it often creates a stifling environment where a tyrannical attitude becomes the norm, and individual expression and critical thinking are suppressed. This atmosphere of enforced conservatism can permeate all aspects of life, from personal relationships to family dynamics. Georgi M. Unkovski‘s Dj Ahmet, a warm-hearted film, offers a gentle counterpoint to such restrictive environments, championing the importance of cultural expression and the joy of individual freedom. It suggests that there is room for individual spirit and the power of will to uplift and connect even within seemingly traditional communities.

Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy, lives in a North Macedonian village with his younger brother, Naim, and their strict father. They are a family of shepherds, earning their living by selling sheep’s milk cheese. Since their mother’s death, Naim has stopped speaking, and their father seeks help from a local healer.

For his feature debut, Turkish filmmaker Nehir Tuna climbs back into his personal space to explore friendship, isolation and the diverging philosophical and religious beliefs of the mid-90s Turkey with the autobiographical Dormitory (aka Yurt). Exploring the rather colorless existence Ahmet, a young teen who is slightly naive but nonetheless rebellious in his pursuit for perspective in a world filled with dichotomy and contradictions. In this portrait, Tuna gazes inquisitively at the way division tends to perpetuate further divisions, while making a concerted effort to extinguish individual spirit.

After a decade plus filmography of working in the short film form, Nehir Tuna had the opportunity to workshop the screenplay for Dormitory at the 2019 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and re-teamed with players on his previous works for a feature that was selected for the 2023 Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section.…...

Selected as a competition offering in the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section, Nehir Tuna‘s lands a prestige spot to showcase his directorial debut film – a project we’ve been following since it was selected for the Sundance Institute 2019 January Screenwriters Lab Fellows. Tomorrow is the big premiere day on the Lido for Dormitory (aka Yurt) and we’ve got your poster one sheet first look exclusive. Featuring actor Doğa Karakaş in the role of Ahmet, the filmmaker dug into his own personal story to detail a portrait of isolation, some coming-of-age elements in a politically tense background. It’s also a film that may offer hope via a key friendship.…...

The late Frank Zappa’s “vaultmeister” has unearthed 23 previously unreleased and rare recordings that Zappa may have been considering for a sequel to his beloved jazz-rock masterpiece, 1969’s Hot Rats.

The apocrypha, which totals three-and-a-half hours of music, will finally come out on June 30 via a three-disc set titled Funky Nothingness.

Zappa’s estate is previewing the set with Zappa’s interpretations of two songs from 1954 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, “Work With Me Annie/Annie Had a Baby,” with violinist Don “Sugarcane” Harris singing lead:

The recordings, cut...