SARAJEVO, Aug 22 — Filmmaker Réka Pinczés has won the Heart of Sarajevo award for Best Student Film for Unwellness, as the Regional Cooperation Council marked 10 years of supporting emerging filmmakers at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
The award, sponsored by the RCC, was presented at the closing ceremony of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival on Aug. 21.
The RCC said the prize provides young filmmakers from Southeast Europe with an opportunity to gain international visibility and introduce their work to wider audiences.
“We warmly congratulate Réka on this achievement,” the RCC said. “Seeing young filmmakers from South East Europe recognised at the region’s largest film festival is a reminder of the talent, creativity and potential our region has to offer.”
The organisation has sponsored the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Student Film for a decade.
Previous recipients include Adem Tutić for Tarik in 2025, Nadja Petrović for The Smell of Fresh Paint in 2024, Anna Gyimesi for Falling in 2023, and Klara Sovagović and Josip Lukić for It’s Not Cold for Mosquitoes in 2022.
Other winners since 2017 include Alexandru Mironescu, Zeynep Dilan Süren, Nikola Stojanović, Hajni Kis and Neven Samardžić.
The RCC said its support for film and culture forms part of a broader effort to encourage regional cooperation and provide young people with opportunities to work across borders.
During this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, the RCC’s EU-funded Western Balkans Youth Lab also organised the Second Regional Conference on Youth Cultural Cooperation together with the festival.
The event brought together young filmmakers and film students from the six Western Balkan economies to exchange ideas, develop professional contacts and explore opportunities for regional cooperation.
The RCC also supports youth-focused initiatives including the Western Balkans Six Women Entrepreneurs of the Year, Balkathon and the Butterfly Innovation Award.
The activity linked to the student film award was funded by Germany, an RCC participant.