The 19th edition of Sarajevo Film Festival’s training program, Talents Sarajevo, has unveiled its mentors, who include Isaure Pisani-Ferry, co-creator of Disney+’s “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld.”
The 63 participants, drawn from 17 countries, will be grouped into eight labs: Acting Studio, Directors Summit, Script Station, Camera Studio, Producers Summit, Editing Studio, Talent Press and Pack and Pitch. Each is led by distinguished mentors.
Croatian actor Goran Bogdan is the mentor for Acting Studio. He is known for his roles in “Fargo,” “Father” and “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent,” winner of the 2024 Palme d’Or for best short and Oscar nominated.
The newly reimagined Directors Summit introduces the “One Day From Competition” concept, bringing together filmmakers whose work is featured in the competition program of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival. Through sessions with Kukla (“Fantasy”), Vladimir Tagić (“Yugo Florida”), Stefan Đorđević (“Wind, Talk to Me”), Georgi M. Unkovski (“DJ Ahmet”), and Hana Jušić (“God Will Not Help”), participants will “delve into the creative and emotional demands of directing.”
The Script Station returns with a refreshed writers’ room format that emphasizes collaboration over competition. Leading this lab are France’s Pisani-Ferry, whose credits include “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” and Netflix’s “Vampires,” and Serbia’s Matija Dragojević, co-author of the Canneseries winner “Awake.” Both bring experience in serial storytelling, development room dynamics, and genre innovation, “helping young writers understand how to protect their voice while working collectively.”
The Camera Studio, led by North Macedonian cinematographer Naum Doksevski, explores visual storytelling as “an act of both empathy and collaboration.” Doksevski’s work, which includes Goran Stolevski’s Venice award winner “Housekeeping for Beginners” and Georgi M. Unkovski’s Sundance winner “DJ Ahmet,” reflecting “a cinematographic practice which invites participants to approach the camera not merely as a technical tool, but as an ethical and aesthetic extension of the filmmaker’s perspective.”
At the Producers Summit, participants will work with Israel’s Katriel Schory, one of the most experienced and influential figures in international cinema. Schory has supported the production of over 250 films and brings “a pragmatic, strategic understanding of how to balance artistic vision with financial and logistical realities.” His mentorship focuses on the producer’s role as both “facilitator and safeguard,” ensuring that creative teams can function sustainably while navigating the complexities of international co-productions, funding structures, and cross-border collaboration.
This year’s Editing Studio brings together emerging editors with Bosnia’s Redžinald Šimek, one of the region’s most experienced editors. With a background that spans sound, video and post-production supervision, and includes collaborations with Danis Tanović and Aida Begić, Šimek’s approach to editing “reflects a strong sense of structure and a collaborative working method.” The lab focuses on editing as a “decisive stage where creative choices meet practical constraints.”
Talent Press, Talents Sarajevo’s program for emerging film critics and journalists, returns under the guidance of Neil Young. A critic, curator and performer, who has served on juries in Cannes, Berlinale and Venice, Young brings “practical expertise in crafting insightful, responsible criticism in an industry shaped by rapid digital discourse and evolving public engagement.”
The Pack & Pitch lab, co-mentored by Gabriele Brunnenmeyer and Nick Davies, “provides essential guidance in how to articulate, package, and present a project.” Brunnenmeyer, a fixture of Europe’s most respected project development labs, such as Midpoint and Rendez-Vouz-Industry Cannes, and Davies, a cultural strategist and editor who has collaborated with the Venice Biennale and the Toronto Film Festival, once again lead this program, guiding participants as their projects evolve and culminate in a final pitch session for a competitive award.