The SFF was founded close to the end of a 43-month siege of the
city by the Bosnian Serb forces, and has grown into the largest film gathering
in the Balkans. "The first festival was opened with Panahi's White Balloon
under extremely difficult conditions but with incredible enthusiasm and a dream
of freedom," said Festival Director Mirsad Purivatra.
"This amazing
artist continues to remind us of the importance of freedom and artistic
creativity, which is exactly what created the Sarajevo Film Festival in
1995," he said presenting a special Heart of Sarajevo Award to Panahi.
Panahi was arrested last year and accused of making a film without permission
and inciting opposition protests after the 2009 Iranian election.
He was jailed
in December for six years and banned for 20 years from filmmaking, writing or
any other form of artistic work.
