Turkish director and Cannes Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan on Friday received an outstanding contribution award at the opening of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
“This is great honor for me, really, and I accept it with my heart,” the director said after receiving the “Heart of Sarajevo” award.
Ceylan scooped the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 for his epic drama “Winter Sleep.”
His latest feature, “The Wild Pear Tree,” was also selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
The Sarajevo Film Festival, now in its 24th year, will also celebrate Ceylan’s talent as a stills photographer with an exhibition of his work in the Bosnian capital.
The festival kicked off on Friday night with an open-air screening of “Cold War” by Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski, who took home the prize for best director at this year’s Cannes festival.
Pawlikowski also won the best foreign language Oscar for “Ida” in 2015.
More than 200 films from 56 countries will be shown during the eight-day festival, which highlights work from southeastern Europe. Past guests include Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Juliette Binoche, Jeremy Irons and John Cleese.
Its main goal is to promote cinema from the region.
Sarajevo Film Festival honors Turkish director
Sarajevo Film Festival honors Turkish director
