Al Jazeera Balkans documentary festival kicks off in Bosnia

The Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival began Friday in Bosnian and Herzegovina's capital of Sarajevo.

Participants from the Balkans and Europe took part in the opening ceremony of the international festival, held for the fourth time.

The festival was inaugurated with the screening of the documentary, Faith and Branko by Irish shooting director Catherine Harte.

It tells about love between a British accordionist and a Roman violinist.

The Swiss-Mexican documentary, Radio Silence, also met moviegoers on the first day of the festival.

The five-day festival, with Anadolu Agency as its global communications partner, boasts a world-class slate of documentaries.

Al Jazeera Balkans Director Tarik Djodic said the AJB DOC has become a September tradition in Sarajevo.

"I hope this year's festival will take place under more normal conditions and we will offer moviegoers productions to watch with pleasure," said Djodic at the opening. "The films can be watched both in movie theaters and online on our official website. This year, the directors of almost all of the films in the competition category accepted our invitation. We see it as an indication of the need to be in the environment.".

Sead Krasevljakovic, one of the front juries at the festival, pointed out that despite the coronavirus pandemic, there was no decrease in the number of applications.

The festival that runs between Sept. 10-14 features 23 documentaries, including six world premieres, eight regional premieres and three special screenings.

It was organized this year under the slogan, "Challenge."

3 AWARDS SET TO BE GIVEN

Three awards will be presented at the festival. A five-member international jury will choose the best film from the competition program and present the AJB DOC Main Award. All films in the competition program also compete for the AJB Program Award, awarded by the Al Jazeera Balkans Program Department Jury. All films screened at the festival will also compete for the Audience Award.

The festival aims to encourage writers and documentaries dealing with social phenomena by focusing on universal human values, including documentary films adapted for television broadcast.