The 19th Sarajevo Film Festival is kicking off Friday with a screening of Danis Tanovic's An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, which won the Silver Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival.
The film features a Gypsy scrap metal collector from Bosnia, who won the best actor award in Berlin for playing himself.
The Sarajevo festival dates to 1995, when its founders wanted to offer those braving mortar shells during the Bosnian war a sense of normalcy.
It has since grown from a relatively small gathering in a basement to a nine-day event, during which more than 100,000 viewers can see 214 movies from 59 countries.
Tanovic, who won an Oscar in 2002 for No Man's Land, will preside over this year's festival jury.
* Associated Press
