The 33rd Sarajevo Film Festival will return in August 2027 to the Bosnian capital. Exact dates have not yet been announced, but based on the festival’s consistent August calendar - the 32nd edition ran 14-21 August 2026 - the 2027 event is expected in the same mid-August window, tentatively around 13-20 August 2027. Official confirmation will come from the festival organisers at sff.ba in spring 2027.
The Sarajevo Film Festival is Southeast Europe’s most significant cinema event. Over three decades it has grown from a small regional showcase into one of the continent’s recognised film festivals, with international premieres alongside the competition for films from Southeast Europe.
What Makes Sarajevo’s Festival Distinctive
The outdoor cinema at Sarajevo’s Metalac open-air venue (and additional sites around the city) gives the festival an atmosphere that few covered festivals can replicate. Screenings after dark with the city’s hills behind them draw audiences that mix film industry professionals with Sarajevo residents and travelling visitors.
The competition sections cover feature films, short films, and documentary film from the Southeast Europe region. Alongside the competition, retrospective programmes, masterclasses, and co-production events make up a full week of programming. For visitors who are not film industry credentialed, public tickets to most screenings are available and represent one of the more accessible routes into a major European film festival.
Visiting Sarajevo for the Festival
August is warm in Sarajevo - temperatures in the mid-20s to low 30s, with occasional thunderstorms in the afternoons. The old town’s Bascarsija quarter, the Miljacka River embankments, and the festival’s central venues are all close together, making Sarajevo a compact and walkable festival city.
Accommodation for festival week should be booked well in advance - Sarajevo’s hotel stock is not large and fills quickly when a major event is running. The festival also draws a significant diaspora crowd from across the former Yugoslavia, adding to accommodation demand.
For context on visiting Bosnia and the wider Balkans, our Sarajevo city guide covers getting there, getting around, and what to see. Balkans itineraries can be adapted to include a Sarajevo festival stop as part of a multi-country summer trip. Browse things to do in the Balkans for tours and activities beyond the festival.