Written by YEA Nevena Matić, Young European Ambassador from Serbia
What happens when film, culture, young people and European cooperation come together in one place? For the Young European Ambassadors, Sarajevo Film Festival was an opportunity to experience exactly that.
The Sarajevo Film Festival is much more than a celebration of cinema. It is a place where stories travel across borders, where filmmakers and audiences meet, and where culture becomes a shared language. Throughout the years, the festival has grown into one of the most important cultural events in the region, bringing together artists, professionals, young people and audiences from across the Western Balkans and Europe. This year, YEAs had the opportunity to be part of this inspiring environment and to take part in conversations about the role of culture, creativity and European cooperation in connecting people and creating new opportunities.
Culture that connects
One of the highlights of our time in Sarajevo was the Webalkans panel “Culture that connects”, which brought together voices from the worlds of film, culture and European cooperation. The panel featured Luigi Soreca, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, filmmaker and producer Labina Mitevska, Snežana van Houwelingen, Ishak Jalimam and Zoran Galić, while the discussion was moderated by Yasserstain.
The conversation focused on an important question: how can culture help us overcome borders and create stronger connections across the Western Balkans and Europe? The answer could be found in many of the experiences shared during the discussion. Creative partnerships allow filmmakers and cultural professionals to work together across countries, exchange ideas and bring new stories to wider audiences. At the same time, they create opportunities for young people and emerging professionals to become part of a larger European cultural space.
Through programmes such as Creative Europe, the European Union supports cultural and creative sectors by encouraging cooperation, mobility and the exchange of ideas. These partnerships help break down barriers between countries and communities, creating more connections, more opportunities and more stories that can reach audiences across Europe. And the Sarajevo Film Festival itself is a powerful example of what such support can make possible.
More than support
Behind every initiative, festival and project, there is often someone who believed it was worth supporting. The EU continues to support ideas, communities and projects, both at home and across borders. Together with content creators, Young European Ambassadors, journalists, representatives of the EU Delegation and the Sarajevo Film Festival, we are taking a moment to say thank you for that support and for the opportunities it has created.
Because support is not only about funding a project. It can mean giving an idea the opportunity to grow. It can mean connecting people who otherwise might never meet. It can mean allowing a young filmmaker to tell a story, helping a festival reach a new audience or creating a partnership between people from different parts of Europe. These are the connections that can continue long after a festival ends.
EU with YOU
Our participation in the Sarajevo Film Festival was also part of a broader story – the story of the “EU with YOU” campaign. The campaign highlights the many ways in which the European Union works together with people and communities across the Western Balkans. From education and culture to innovation, local communities and cross-border cooperation, European support creates opportunities that often become visible through the people and projects that benefit from them.
The Sarajevo Film Festival is a reminder that culture has a unique ability to connect us. It allows us to understand experiences beyond our own, hear stories from different societies and recognise that, despite different languages and borders, many of the questions, challenges and aspirations we share are universal.
For us as Young European Ambassadors, being part of this experience, was a reminder that European cooperation is not only discussed in institutions and policies. It can also be seen on a cinema screen, in a conversation between artists, in a partnership between organisations and in the connections created when people come together.
Culture connects. Stories travel. And when ideas are given the opportunity to grow, their impact can go far beyond borders.
