The VIVA Film Festival is an annual documentary and short film festival that is based in Sarajevo and in 19 cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The festival showcases international films with ecological, natural hereligious, touristic themes, as well as youth-made films. It was established by an international team of film professionals, environmentalists, diplomats, religious leaders and scholars that includes former US Vice President Al Gore (current festival Vice Chairman), Bosnian archeologist Semir Osmanagić and others, with the purpose of promoting inter-religious dialogue, the preservation of the environment and ecotourism.
Format
The festival is composed of five competition programs: Grand Prix, Ecology, Religion, Tourism and Youth-directed. It is based in Sarajevo, where the centre piece events, projections and award ceremonies are held, but also travels to cities and towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each town has its own management department and they are all interlinked. Heads of the various management departments sit in the festival's managing council. Each year's competition selection includes more than 100 films from over 45 countries that tackle the issues of inter-religious dialogue, environmentalism and ecotourism. A panel of filmmakers, religious and community leaders, writers and human rights advocates judges the entries, based both on their cinematic value and on their message, deciding on the three best films from each program.
Award winners
Grand Prix Year English title Original title Director(s) Country 2015 Baobabs between Land and Sea Madagascar 2016 Man From Salt مرد نمک Iran 2017 The Last Warriors Italy, China 2018 Our Roots Nos Racines France
Ecology Year English title Original title Director(s) Country 2015 WindEnds Spain 2016 Nature Needs You Australia 2017 Day After Day दिवसेंदिवस India
Religion Year English title Original title Director(s) Country 2015 As You Like It Romania 2016 Jewish Blind Date Switzerland 2017 Bhikkhuni, Buddhism, Sri Lanka, Revolution Poland 2018 Roses for Ashes Turkey 2019 Tales of kokoro Les contes de Kokoro France
Tourism Year English title Original title Director(s) Country 2015 The Glacier - An Alpine Legend Germany 2016 The Phenomenon of the Fortress Fenomen tvrđava Serbia 2017 Novalja - Eternal Beauty on the Island of Pag Croatia
Youth Year English title Original title Director(s) Country 2016 Ornament of the World Ukras svijeta Serbia 2017 My Diary Moj dnevnik Bosnia and Herzegovina
References
External links Official website