RCC championing Sarajevo Film Festival’s 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film for the 4th time in a row

Sarajevo – For the 4th time in a row the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is the patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), taking place 14-21 August, which this year, due to the corona virus pandemic, goes fully online.

 “Our more pronounced engagement on youth issues started perhaps with the Sarajevo Film Festival 4 years ago, when we decide to be the patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film. Now I am happy to say that our activities on youth issues expanded thoroughly. Starting with employing 14 young people solely in 2020 in the RCC, who, I am proud to say, make more than 20% of all RCC employees now. Earlier this year we launched our EU-funded Youth Lab project that is to provide opportunities for young people of our region to participate in decision-making. And just a month ago we organized first ever Balkathon, which aimed to encourage innovative ideas, promote digital solutions, and help our region to recover from the pandemic onslaught we are all still suffering from,” said RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu.

“And this is not all. We have many more activities related to youth, including girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and we intend to make an annual tradition out of Balkathon. Because, young people have so much to offer and we are happy to provide opportunities for them, give them incentives to show us what they got. We’ve got your back, it’s youth time!”

Besides being the patron of the best student film, this year the RCC Secretary General will be a moderator of the Panel discussion bringing together student filmmakers and Talents Sarajevo participants. The focus of the panel, that is to take place online on Sunday, 16 August 2020 at 11.00, would be Talents alumni – ex-participants of the programme, who are back at Sarajevo Film Festival with their new projects. Guest panelists are Ms Ruxandra Ghitescu – Director from Romania & Mr Ru Hasanov, Director from Azerbaijan. Follow RCC social media for more information.

By supporting the student competition programme, which has been initiated in 2017, the RCC is there from the very start and continuously fueling regional cooperation in the field of youth creativity and art, promoting work of young and talented future film professionals at the very beginning of their careers.  The programme is focused on featuring fiction, documentary, and animated films up to 60 minutes, produced as a part of the studying process at one of the regional film schools, faculties or academies.

The winner of the Student Competition Programme will be presented on 20 August 2020. More info at www.sff.ba

Find more on RCC’s Webpage,  You Tube Channel, Facebook Page and Instagram.