Heart of Sarajevo


The Heart of Sarajevo is the highest prize awarded in all the competition categories at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Heart of Sarajevo

The official Heart of Sarajevo have been awarded since 2004, and the 10th anniversary of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Its design, as a visual identity for the festival, was chosen in 2004 from the shape that has been in informal circulation since the very beginning of the festival in the early 1990s, a heart designed by French fashion designer Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé a.k.a. Agnès B., a friend and patron of the Sarajevo Film Festival. The awards for 31st Sarajevo Film Festival were announced on 22 August 2025.

Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Feature Film

YearFilmOriginal titleDirectorNationality of Director
1996Breaking the WavesBreaking the WavesDenmarksortname|Alain|Berliner

Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award

Since 2005, the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo has been also awarded to individuals who have contributed to the development of the festival, as well as regional film in general, term which comprise filmmaking in broad area of Former Yugoslavia, Balkans, and Southeast Europe. In 2016, the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for lifetime achievement was introduced. Its first recipient was Robert De Niro.
YearWinnerNote
2005Director of Rome Film Festival
2006Former Minister of Culture and Sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
2006Film director
2007Actor and film director
2008Film producer
2009Executive director of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung
2010Actor and producer
2010Director of Berlin International Film Festival
2011Actress and film director
2011Film director
2011President of Atlantic Grupa
2012Film producer
2013Executive director of Eurimages
2013Film director
2014Actor
2014Film director
2014Fashion designer
2015Film director
2015Actor
2016Actor, film director and producer
Lifetime Achievement Award
2016Film director
2016Former Deputy Chief of Mission and Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina
2017Actor and film producer
2017Film director and producer
2018Film director
2018Owner and founder of the ASA Prevent Group and founder of the Hastor Foundation
2019Film director
2019Actress
2019Film director
2019Actor
2020Film director
2020Actor
2021Film director
2022Actor
2022Film director
2022Film director
2022Film director
2023Film director
2023Film director and writer
2023Film director
2024Film director
2024Actor
2024Film director and writer
2024Actor
2025Film director, screenwriter, and writer
2025Actor
2025Television, stage, and film actor
2025Actor