Sarajevo Film Festival Set To Honor Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg’s next project promises to be a hairy experience — literally.

Jesse Eisenberg is taking on an unexpected role.

Christopher Vourlias Croatian writer-director Juraj Lerotić’s “Safe Place,” an emotional story of a family reeling in the wake of a suicide attempt, took the top prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival, which wrapped a record-setting 2022 edition in the Bosnian capital on Friday night.The Heart of Sarajevo Award for best feature film was given by a jury headed by Austrian filmmaker Sebastian Meise (“The Great Freedom”), which included French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilović (“Earwig”), Croatian writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (“Murina”), Serbian actor Milan Marić (“Dovlatov”) and Israeli producer and consultant Katriel Schory.“Safe Place” plays on Lerotić’s own pained family history, with the Croatian multihyphenate taking on the lead role in his deeply personal story — a performance that also earned him the award for best actor in Sarajevo. Fresh off a triumphant world premiere in Locarno, where the film won three awards including best first feature, “Safe Place” was described by Variety’s Guy Lodge as a “supremely poised and moving first feature” and a “shattering” debut, “with a long trail of further festival bookings surely ahead.”Ukrainian director Maryina Er Gorbach was named best director for “Klondike,” which portrays the brutal realities of the war unfolding in Ukraine’s Donbass region through the lens of a pregnant farmstead owner whose life and home fall apart.

Eight films battled it out in competition at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, but Austrian director Sebastian Meise’s jury—including French director Lucile Hadžihalilović , Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Serbian actor Milan Marić and Israeli producer Katriel Schory—spread the love quite widely.

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival after screenings of his directorial debut When You Finish Saving the World, Jesse Eisenberg covered a lot of bases, from his introduction to acting as an anxious teenager to his dislike of the sitcom Friends (“My sister loves it, and we get into arguments all the time,” he said. “Because no one talks that way, and there’s not a group of six people that are all that good-looking and all that funny”). Eisenberg also expressed dismay at the response to his portrayal of Lex Luthor in the 2016 blockbuster Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. “I felt very personal about it,” he said. “The writer, Chris Terrio, is a very serious writer, and he’s a very emotional person. He thought a lot about my character, and I thought a lot about my character too. I talked with my acting coach about the character a lot, about his backstory with his father and his emotional life—and then people hate me.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Woodstock Film Festival will give honorary awards to Ethan Hawke, Awkwafina, Leave No Trace director Debra Granik and IFC Films president Arianna Bocco this fall.

Johnny Depp could return to the Fantastic Beasts franchise.The Danish actor replaced Depp in the role of Gellert Grindelwald following the latter’s highly-publicised legal battle with Amber Heard. However, with Depp winning the court case, Mikkelsen has suggested he could now make a comeback.Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, in which he received an honorary award for his contribution to film, Mikkelsen addressed his concerns about replacing Depp in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore.“It was very intimidating,” he said. “Obviously, well, now the course has changed – he won the suit, the court [case] – so let’s see if he comes back.

Mads Mikkelsen raised the possibility of Johnny Depp’s return to the Fantastic Beasts saga in light of his recent defamation trial victory over Amber Heard. Mikkelsen replaced Depp as Gellert Grindelwald for the third instalment, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, after Depp resigned at the request of studio Warner Bros last year. Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Monday, Mikkelsen said “it was very intimidating” stepping into Depp’s shoes for the role.

Mads Mikkelsen reflected on his career at the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia And Herzegovina over the weekend, discussing his lengthy career and which three actors he dreams of working with next. The Danish film and TV star was this year’s recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his outstanding contribution to the art of film.

Although the Danish star arrived at the Sarajevo Film Festival to receive his Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his outstanding contribution to the art of film, many of the crowd who attended the event’s morning “Coffee With…” event on Monday seemed, rather worryingly, to be fans of Mads Mikkelsen’s TV work, notably HBO’s cannibal drama Hannibal. Nevertheless, the actor took their questions in his stride, as part of a wide-ranging conversation that embraced his early career in Danish indie cinema, his move to the U.S. and the M.C.U., his affection for Pink Floyd, and his love of football. “I always wanted to make money out of sports,” he quipped. “It never happened.”

Covid-19 pandemic. Following the easing the restrictions earlier this year, the Hannibal star graced the red carpet at the city's Film Festival in a dapper blazer and matching trousers to collect his honour. Mikkelsen opted for a black and grey patterned tie with a matching handkerchief tucked into his upper left pocket.

Christopher Vourlias In some ways it’s a year of transition for the Sarajevo Film Festival, which sees former industry head and co-director Jovan Marjanović take the helm as festival director, while long-time staffer Maša Marković takes over as head of industry. For Marković, who began her career at the long-running Bosnian fest 15 years ago, the change “was kind of organic,” offering the kind of smooth transition that has allowed Sarajevo to retain its position as the leading industry confab in Southeast Europe.For nearly three decades, the festival has identified and launched local talent while serving as a think tank of sorts for the region’s rapidly evolving screen industries.

“Empire of Light,” the latest feature film from Oscar winner Sam Mendes, has locked its European premiere with a gala screening at the 66th annual BFI London Film Festival. Starring Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones and others, the 1980s–set film “is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema,” distributor Searchlight Pictures said in a statement. The film’s stars – including Colman, Firth, and on-the-rise BAFTA winner Ward – are expected to be in attendance at the festival’s American Express Gala screening on Oct.

Christopher Vourlias When the first edition of what would become the Sarajevo Film Festival was held in 1995, the Bosnian capital was in the final year of a devastating, four-year siege. Electricity shortages plunged the city into darkness, while food and hard currency were scarce.

The 66th BFI London Film Festival has set Empire Of Light, the latest film from Sam Mendes, as its American Express Gala screening.

The New York Film Festival has set “The Inspection” from director Elegance Bratton as its closing night film for the 60th edition of the festival. The movie from A24 will premiere on October 14 at Alice Tully Hall.

Jovan Marjanović has been with the Sarajevo Film Festival for more than two decades and while he is what he describes as “a true child of the festival” this year marks the first edition where he’ll sit as director of the much-loved Balkan event, taking the reins from founder and long-time director Mirsad Purivatra.

It may be Maša Marković’s first year as head of industry at the Sarajevo Film Festival, but for the long-time festival staffer, it’s business as usual.