Australian director Sebastian Meise receives the Best Feature Film award for Great Freedom in Sarajevo on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Fans wait for the arrival of Irish rock legend, Bono Vox on the red carpet during the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival, in front of the Bosnian National Theatre on August 15. Photo: AFP

Billboards show posters for the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo on August 15. Photos: AFP

 Film fans are thrilled by 2021's live Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), but opinions on the festival's preventive measures against COVID-19 diverge, with some expressing worries of a possible infection outbreak.

During 2020's lockdown amid the pandemic, the SFF went online. This time's live edition will, however, continue to offer movies online to a global audience. 

Living life

Mirza Mehanovic, a 45-year-old communication engineer in Sarajevo, describes himself as a "die-hard film fan."

"I have been following the SFF since its very beginning, and I'm probably their biggest fan," said Mehanovic, noting he used to report on the SFF in the late 1990s as he worked for different TV channels.

"I fell in love with this SFF fever. The whole city comes alive. It's unlike any other event in the region and every business in town thrives. Everyone makes money," said Mehanovic.

"It's a great thing to meet old friends during the SFF and also to get to know some new people."

Noting he and his wife had COVID-19 in 2020, with himself having excessive sweating and his wife suffering from occasional migraine-like headaches, Mehanovic said, "I am not taking COVID-19 lightly at all."

Bosnian nationals usually spend their summer holidays along the Adriatic coast, he said. 

"I think that could be more dangerous than the SFF. Having a live SFF this year was well worth a risk, especially with all preventive measures in place," he added.

Every SFF guest should be fully immunized, be fully recovered from COVID-19, or test negative for the virus.

"It may be a risk to some degree but, after all, what is life without culture, and without socializing, and without a bit of risk?" Mehanovic said.

Dario Sakotic, a 48-year-old Bosnian national who has been living in the Netherlands for years, said he recently visited Sarajevo but had to leave shortly before the SFF started.

"Luckily they still have their online platform, so I managed to see a few films online," he said.

Sakotic said he is not sure if this live SFF is a good idea as it may cause a rise in new cases.

Sakotic said a friend living in Sarajevo told him that the bars and streets surrounding SFF headquarters were packed with people without masks.

"I am not sure, however, that the SFF could be held responsible for that," said Sakotic.

The show must go on

Leila Kurbegovic, editor-in-chief of the culture program at Sarajevo Canton Television, said 2021 was the first time in many years that she did not have to report on the SFF, so she could enjoy the festival in full.

"I am impressed by the preventive measures taken by the SFF management," she said, noting that she liked the extra room allowing her to stretch her legs as the chairs in the SFF's open air cinema were widely spaced.

"I also liked the fact they kept last year's online platform and I could also watch movies in my pajamas," she added.

Kurbegovic said she bought all her tickets online and all journalists could also get their accreditations online, just like in 2020.

"I wear a mask and keep my distance. At no point I felt that I was at risk, as there were no lines at the entrance, and no crowded cinemas," she said.

Still, she feels life must go on despite the pandemic.

"We are potentially exposed to the virus as we go to work, visit doctors, buy groceries or gas," she said.

The 27th SFF, which kicked off on August 13, closed on Friday night with the world premiere of impressionist film TOMA by Serbian director Dragan Bjelogrlic.

Founded in 1995 during the Bosnian War, the SFF has grown into a major cultural event in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Southeast Europe.