Overview
The Telemach Youth Film Festival Sarajevo, known as OFF Sarajevo, is the largest short professional film festival in Southeast Europe and the second-largest film festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 2009, the 17th edition is scheduled for July 18 to 25, 2025. The festival screens approximately 70 films per year from over 10 countries, draws around 15,000 visitors and 200 accredited international guests, and operates the OFF Pro Film Market, a regional co-production market for short films that distributes over EUR 15,000 annually in cash and services.
For short film filmmakers from Southeast Europe and beyond, OFF Sarajevo provides a competitive platform with categories for professional shorts, youth-oriented shorts, and youth features. The festival's industry programme includes a co-production market, masterclass workshops, and conferences that connect emerging filmmakers with European producers and distributors. The festival covers travel and accommodation costs for attending filmmakers, investing tens of thousands of euros annually to ensure broad participation.
Submission Details
Submissions are accepted through the festival's official website. The festival runs a free waiver campaign during June, offering fee-free submission windows. The festival received a record number of submissions in 2025, including during the free waiver period.
Film length requirements:
- OFF Shorts (professional shorts): up to 25 minutes
- OFF Generation Short (youth-oriented shorts): up to 30 minutes
- OFF Generation Features (youth features): minimum 60 minutes
Eligibility: The festival accepts short films (up to 30 minutes) and feature-length productions (minimum 60 minutes) from Southeast Europe and the broader European region. Films are selected from hundreds of submissions each year.
Competition Sections
- OFF Shorts: Professional short films up to 25 minutes. This is the festival's flagship competitive category, open to established and emerging short film directors.
- OFF Generation Short: Youth-oriented short films up to 30 minutes, focused on content relevant to younger audiences.
- OFF Generation Features: Feature-length films (60+ minutes) oriented toward youth perspectives.
- OFF Screen: Non-competitive exhibition section for films outside the competitive categories.
- OFF Retrospective: Non-competitive section featuring retrospective screenings of significant works.
OFF Pro Film Market
The OFF Pro Film Market is the festival's industry programme, held over four days during the festival. It is one of the most important short film co-production markets in Europe and the only market of its type in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
OFF Co-Pro Market: Presents up to 15 short film projects in development from across Europe. Projects compete for co-production funds, a distribution strategy award from Gorila Distribution Italy, and the Manaki Brothers Film Festival award. The total value of awards is over EUR 15,000 in cash and film services.
The 2025 edition (the sixth OFF Pro Film Market) ran July 20-23 and introduced a new prize in collaboration with the Brussels CoProMarket: the best project from the Brussels CoProMarket in development and produced in Europe receives selection for the OFF Pro Film Market in Sarajevo, with accommodation and accreditation covered.
Industry Sessions: The market includes sessions focused on the development and promotion of short films, green policies in film production, budget reduction strategies, and co-production negotiations. Dozens of European producers and distributors attend annually.
Major Awards
- OFF Shorts Awards - competitive prizes for professional short films
- OFF Generation Short Awards - competitive prizes for youth-oriented shorts
- OFF Generation Features Awards - competitive prizes for youth features
- OFF Co-Pro Market Awards - co-production funding and distribution awards (over EUR 15,000 total value)
- Distribution Strategy Award - provided by Gorila Distribution Italy
- Manaki Brothers Film Festival Award - selection for the Manaki Brothers Film Festival
- Brussels CoProMarket Award - selection for the OFF Pro Film Market (introduced 2025)
Festival History
OFF Sarajevo was established in 2009 as a youth-focused film festival complementing the more established Sarajevo Film Festival. The festival initially ran for 5 days, expanding to 8 days starting with the 2024 edition. The OFF Pro Film Market launched in 2020 as the festival's industry initiative, growing to become one of the largest short film co-production markets in the region.
The festival is organized by a registered association and has grown to attract approximately 15,000 visitors, over 1,000 overnight stays, and 200 accredited international guests per edition. The 16th edition (2024) expected nearly 25,000 visitors across eight festival days. The festival has hosted young actors from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max, positioning itself as a bridge between emerging European filmmaking talent and streaming platforms.
Past Winners
OFF Sarajevo awards prizes across its competitive sections. Recent winners include:
2023 Festival (15th edition):
- I Have Electric Dreams (dir. Valentina Maurel) - Won Best Feature Film. The Costa Rican-Belgian co-production tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who leaves her mother's house to live with her volatile father. The film premiered at Locarno 2022 and was Costa Rica's submission for the Academy Awards.
- Tria: Del sentimento del tradire (dir. Giulia Grandinetti) - Won Best Short Film. The Italian short premiered at Venice 2022 in the Orizzonti section. Set in a dystopian Rome, it follows three sisters facing a law that forces immigrant families to sacrifice a child.
- EO - Received the special award in the feature film category. The film, inspired by Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar, follows a donkey's journey through Europe.
- The Other - Received special recognition in the short film category.
2024 Festival (16th edition):
- An Orange From Jaffa (dir. Mohammed Almughanni) - Won Best OFF Generation Short. The Palestinian film follows a young man trying to cross an Israeli checkpoint with a Polish residence card. It also won awards at IDFA 2023 and Clermont-Ferrand 2024.
- Yurt (dir. Nehir Tuna) - Won Best OFF Generation Feature. The Turkish-German-French co-production tells the story of a boy sent to an Islamic dormitory in 1990s Istanbul.
- Forever-Forever (dir. Anna Buryachkova) - Won the jury award in OFF Generation Features.
- Last Swim - Received special recognition in OFF Generation Features.
- Eat Me (dir. Mime Miljkovic, Serbia) and Let Them Talk (dir. Karlo Gagulic, Croatia) - Won Best Regional Film in OFF Shorts.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
OFF Sarajevo has programmed films that went on to wider festival and distribution success:
- I Have Electric Dreams (2023 winner) - Premiered at Locarno 2022, where it won awards. After OFF Sarajevo, it screened at the Lux Film Festival and was submitted for the Academy Awards by Costa Rica. Director Valentina Maurel previously won the First Cinefondation Prize at Cannes 2017 for her short Paul is Here.
- An Orange From Jaffa (2024 winner) - Won at IDFA 2023 and Clermont-Ferrand 2024 in addition to OFF Sarajevo. Director Mohammed Almughanni, born in Gaza in 1994, earned his degrees from the Lodz Film School in Poland. The film has screened at festivals worldwide.
- Tria: Del sentimento del tradire (2023 winner) - Premiered at Venice 2022 Orizzonti, then won at OFF Sarajevo 2023. It screened at BFI London Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, and over 20 other festivals, winning multiple awards including Best Short Film at several events.
- I Promise You Paradise (2023 selection) - Directed by Morad Mostafa, this Egyptian short was selected for Cannes Critics' Week 2023. It won the International ShortWork Award at Whistler Film Festival 2023. Mostafa is developing his first feature at the Cannes Cinefondation residence.
The OFF Pro Film Market has also helped short film projects secure co-production financing. Up to 15 projects compete annually for over EUR 15,000 in cash and services, with distribution awards from Gorila Distribution Italy and the Manaki Brothers Film Festival.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
- Watch for the June free waiver campaign. The festival runs a free waiver period in June, offering fee-free submission windows. Monitor the official website and social media for announcements.
- Keep your short under 25 minutes for OFF Shorts. The flagship competitive category caps films at 25 minutes. The OFF Generation Short category allows up to 30 minutes for youth-oriented content.
- Submit to the OFF Co-Pro Market if you have a project in development. Up to 15 short film projects are selected annually for the co-production market. Projects compete for over EUR 15,000 in cash and services, plus distribution opportunities.
- Take advantage of filmmaker travel support. The festival covers travel and accommodation for selected filmmakers. Approximately 280 authors and professionals attend each year. Confirm coverage details upon selection.
- Target the right category. OFF Shorts is for professional short fiction films with a regional focus. OFF Generation Shorts is for filmmakers up to age 36 with youth-relevant themes. OFF Generation Features is for youth-oriented feature films (60+ minutes).
- Submit through the official website. Submissions are accepted through the festival's website at omladinski.ba, not through FilmFreeway.
Industry Reputation Notes
OFF Sarajevo is the largest short professional film festival in Southeast Europe and the second-largest film festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Sarajevo Film Festival (founded 1995) is the larger and more established festival in the country, with a broader industry profile and CineLink market for features. OFF Sarajevo differentiates itself through its exclusive focus on short films and youth-oriented content, plus its OFF Pro Film Market dedicated to short film co-production.
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France) is the world's largest short film festival and the natural comparison for European short film events. OFF Sarajevo does not match Clermont-Ferrand's scale, but its OFF Pro Film Market fills a gap in Southeast Europe by offering co-production financing specifically for short films. The festival draws 200 accredited international guests and approximately 15,000 visitors, giving it regional weight that larger festivals cannot replicate in the Balkans.
Watch
What Filmmakers Should Know
For short film filmmakers: OFF Sarajevo is the largest short professional film festival in Southeast Europe. The OFF Shorts competition is the primary category for professional short films up to 25 minutes. The festival invests in filmmaker attendance, covering travel and accommodation for selected filmmakers. Approximately 280 authors and professionals attend each year.
For short film producers: The OFF Co-Pro Market is the most direct route to securing co-production financing for short film projects in development. Up to 15 projects are selected annually, competing for over EUR 15,000 in cash and services. The market also provides distribution opportunities through partnerships with Gorila Distribution and the Manaki Brothers Film Festival.
For youth-oriented filmmakers: The OFF Generation categories are specifically for films addressing youth perspectives and issues. The festival actively seeks content that explores topics often overlooked in mainstream programming for younger audiences.
Budget-conscious submitters: The festival runs a free waiver campaign in June. Monitor the official website and social media channels for waiver announcements. The festival also offers free submission periods.
See Also
For the main Sarajevo Film Festival, see Sarajevo Film Festival. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For budgeting a short film production, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator.
