Béla Tarr’s Film Factory students screen in Sarajevo

The Sarajevo Film Festival has launched a new program dedicated to the legacy of Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, who died in January at age 68. The Béla Tarr in Sarajevo Tribute program will spotlight a decade of work by former students from the Film Factory in Sarajevo, an experimental film school Tarr co-founded in 2013 with local partners. The tribute runs alongside the festival’s 30th edition this August, featuring restored prints of student films and a masterclass led by Tarr’s longtime collaborator, cinematographer Gábor Medvigy.

Tarr’s connection to Sarajevo began in 2011 when he visited as a member of the Sarajevo Film Festival’s jury. Deeply moved by the city’s resilience and creative energy after decades of war, he later proposed creating an educational space where filmmakers could develop their craft without Western commercial pressures. The Film Factory became a haven for emerging talent from the Balkans and beyond, emphasizing long takes, philosophical storytelling, and hands-on mentorship. Alumni include Kosovo’s Blerta Zeqiri, whose debut *The Marriage* premiered in Sarajevo, and Serbian director Dane Komljen, whose *All the Cities of the North* won festival awards. Tarr’s death this year—just months before the Festival’s anniversary—has made the tribute a poignant act of remembrance and continuity.

The program’s lineup includes screenings of 12 films made by Film Factory graduates, many of which blend documentary realism with Tarr’s signature slow cinema. Medvigy will lead a Q&A on Tarr’s teaching methods, which prioritized physical filmmaking over digital shortcuts. Festival director Mirsad Purivatra called the tribute “a tribute to a man who proved cinema can still be a tool for deep human connection.” Local critics note that the Film Factory’s impact extends beyond awards, fostering a generation of filmmakers who now shape regional cinema. Some alumni have gone on to direct features screened at Cannes and Berlin, while others work in education, keeping Tarr’s ideas alive.

What happens next could reshape the festival’s focus for years. Organizers plan to turn the tribute into a recurring event, potentially expanding it into a platform for Film Factory graduates to pitch new projects. Purivatra hinted at a possible Béla Tarr Foundation in Sarajevo to fund future filmmakers. The move reflects a broader shift in European cinema toward nurturing directors outside traditional industry hubs. For Sarajevo, a city still rebuilding from war, the program symbolizes continuity—a way to honor Tarr’s belief that cinema can heal as much as it can entertain.