Sarajevo is living the rhythm of the Sarajevo Film Festival these days. The streets are packed, more beds are being sought, and numerous sectors are working tirelessly to send beautiful images from the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the world.
The President of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, Haris Fazlagić, emphasizes that their main goal is promotion, and that what the Sarajevo Film Festival is doing is the most beautiful thing that is happening to our city because it sends the most positive image possible to the world.
“The SFF is certainly our biggest brand. Tourist capacities are traditionally filled to the last seat and more beds have been sought for days. Last year, we had 30,000 more overnight stays during the week of the festival than in the week before or after it. We expect that this trend will continue this year. The city is full, the weather is good, and beautiful images from Sarajevo will be touring the world for the next ten days,” he said.
He emphasizes that the events do not stop even after the SFF.
“Last night we had a big concert by The Prodigy, followed by the Days of Beer and Food festival on Wilson’s Promenade, and in September we are also announcing a performance by the Ukrainian National Ballet. The summer season, as far as the rich offer is concerned, will last at least until mid-September.
Fazlagić points out that most tourists arrive from the Western Hemisphere, which is primarily focused on SFF, and guests from countries whose films are in the competition section, as well as film workers and journalists, are leading the way.
“On the other hand, we traditionally have a large number of tourists from Asian countries who are not necessarily there for the festival, which is great because it shows that we have a diverse offer. When it comes to the top 10 countries, there are usually guests from the region (Serbia, Croatia), then Turkey, and Germany and other German-speaking countries. We are particularly pleased that Italy and Great Britain are now among the top 10, which resulted in the establishment of new airlines”.
In the end, Fazlagić says that Sarajevo is not only the center of the region at the time of the SFF, but the center of the world.
“The Sarajevo Film Festival is probably among the 10 best in the world, and certainly among the five or six in Europe. We are a serious European and world film and festival center, and when it comes to this festival, we have long since surpassed the region.”
