Sarajevo Film Festival Dealing with the Past: Winter Edition

This November, the In Youth Eyes: Western Balkans Youth Team gathered in Sarajevo for the winter edition of the Dealing with the Past programme. Over four days, participants explored how memory, identity, and conflict continue to inform the present — through film screenings, talks with filmmakers, museum visits, creative workshops, and guided conversations on the emotional dimensions of remembrance. 

From discussions with directors and screenwriters to lectures on the ethics of memory to a hands-on workshop, “Sarajevo in Two Stories,” led by Milica Radovanović — where both groups produced short videos capturing the city through contrasting lenses of peace and conflict — the programme offered space for reflection, creativity, and dialogue. 

The initiative was organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Dialogue Southeast Europe, the Sarajevo Film Festival’s Dealing with the Past programme, and ProPeace, bringing together young people from across the region to think critically about the stories we inherit and the futures we create. Guided throughout by FES Program Manager Saša Vasić and facilitator Slobodan Blagovčanin, the winter edition once again reminded us that dealing with the past is an ongoing, collective process — one that continues to shape how we understand ourselves, each other, and the world we hope to build.