The Sarajevo Film Festival has assembled a diverse international jury for its 2026 Feature Film Competition, bringing together an Oscar-nominated actor, one of Europe’s leading film executives, a pioneering Greek filmmaker, an award-winning Croatian director, and one of North Macedonia’s rising acting talents. Leading the five-member panel is Emily Watson, who has been appointed Jury President for this year’s edition of the festival.
Joining Watson are Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and Director of the European Film Academy; acclaimed Greek filmmaker and producer Athina Rachel Tsangari; Croatian director Igor Bezinović; and North Macedonian actor Sara Klimoska. Together, they will judge the festival’s feature competition and present the coveted Heart of Sarajevo Awards during the closing ceremony on August 21.
The announcement is the latest major reveal from this year’s festival after organizers confirmed that two-time Academy Award winner Asghar Farhadi will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cinema. The Iranian filmmaker, who previously served as Sarajevo’s Feature Competition Jury President, will also be honored with a retrospective of his work as part of the festival’s “Tribute To” programme.
Watson joins an illustrious list of previous Sarajevo jury presidents that includes Mike Leigh, Jeremy Irons, Asghar Farhadi, Ruben Östlund, and Mia Wasikowska. The British actor continues to balance acclaimed work across film and television, most recently portraying Mary Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet. Her recent screen credits also include God’s Creatures, Small Things Like These, Netflix’s Steve, and HBO/Max’s Dune: Prophecy, where she has recently wrapped filming on the second season.
Alongside Watson is Matthijs Wouter Knol, one of the most influential figures in European cinema administration. Since becoming CEO and Director of the European Film Academy in 2021, Knol has overseen the organization’s strategic direction, including the European Film Awards, audience development initiatives, film heritage projects, and knowledge-sharing programmes. His experience also extends to serving on juries at major international festivals such as Locarno, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Buenos Aires.
The jury also welcomes Athina Rachel Tsangari, a filmmaker widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the Greek New Wave. Through acclaimed features including Attenberg, Chevalier, and Harvest, Tsangari has built a reputation for exploring themes of power, identity, and human relationships. Beyond her own directing career, she has played an important role in contemporary European cinema as a producer, backing Yorgos Lanthimos’ early films Kinetta and Alps through her Athens-based production company Haos Film, while also serving as co-producer on Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight.
Representing the region’s next generation of filmmakers are Croatian director Igor Bezinović and North Macedonian actor Sara Klimoska. Bezinović arrives following the international success of Fiume o morte!, which earned the European Film Award for Best Documentary alongside multiple Adriatic Film & TV Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Klimoska, meanwhile, has steadily established herself through performances in films such as You Won’t Be Alone and Housekeeping for Beginners, while her upcoming collaboration with acclaimed filmmaker Milcho Manchevski in Sister Brother Manhole Cover continues her rise on the international festival circuit. She also shares a longstanding connection with Sarajevo, having participated in the Talents Sarajevo programme and receiving a Heart of Sarajevo nomination in 2022 for her role in the television series Underneath.
Founded in 1995 during the Siege of Sarajevo, the Sarajevo Film Festival has grown into one of Europe’s most important showcases for Southeast European and international cinema. This year’s jury reflects that global outlook, combining artistic, industry, and regional perspectives as it selects the recipients of the festival’s highest honour, the Heart of Sarajevo, while reinforcing the event’s reputation as a meeting point for established auteurs and emerging cinematic voices.
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