I Know Your Soul, a six-part drama series from Oscar-nominated Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanic, emerged as the standout winner at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival. The series clinched the top TV honors by winning best drama series and dominating the drama categories with accolades for best directing, best script, and most of the acting categories. Žbanic, known for her acclaimed works such as Quo Vadis, Aida? and Grbavica, not only co-wrote the series but also produced and served as the showrunner.
The plot of I Know Your Soul revolves around Nervena, a prosecutor navigating a divorce while raising her teenage son as a single mother. Her investigation into a teen suicide triggers a chain of events that profoundly impact her personal and professional life. Jasna Duricic, who portrays Nervena, received the best actress award for her compelling performance.
The series, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, garnered further recognition with co-star Jelena Kordic Kuret winning best supporting actress in a drama, Mirvad Kuric securing the best supporting actor title, and Lazar Dragojevic being honored with the rising star – drama award.
HBO Max acquired the rights to broadcast I Know Your Soul in Central and Eastern Europe. Notably, the late Serbian actor Žarko Lauševic posthumously received the best actor in a drama series award for his role in the World War I drama Time of Death.
In the comedy categories, Bosnian series Smashing It and Serbian series Radio Mileva shared the limelight, each clinching three Heart of Sarajevo awards. Smashing It was recognized with the Best Comedy prize, while actors Alen Muratovic and Olga Odanovic won best actor and best actress respectively. The writers of Smashing It, Elma Tataragic, Dušan Vranic, and Enes Zlatar, were honored with the best script award, and Elmir Jukic received the best directing accolade for Radio Mileva.
The Sarajevo festival showcased series from various countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Slovenia. The winners were selected by a professional jury comprising film and TV experts.
Full list of winners:
- Best Drama Series: I Know Your Soul
- Best Actress in a Drama Series: Jasna Ðuricic for I Know Your Soul
- Best Actor in a Drama Series: Žarko Lauševic for Time of Death
- Best Supporting Role – Actress in a Drama Series: Jelena Kordic Kuret for I Know Your Soul
- Best Supporting Role – Actor in a Drama Series: Mirvad Kuric for I Know Your Soul
- Rising Star – Drama Series: Lazar Dragojevic for I Know Your Soul
- Best Script – Drama Series: Jasmila Žbanic and Elma Tataragic for I Know Your Soul
- Best Directing – Drama Series: Nermin Hamzagic for I Know Your Soul
- Best Comedy: Smashing It
- Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Olga Odanovic for Radio Mileva
- Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Alen Muratovic for Smashing It
- Rising Star – Comedy: Kris Gavric for Radio Mileva
- Best Script – Comedy: Elma Tataragic, Dušan Vranic, Enes Zlatar for Smashing It
- Best Directing – Comedy: Elmir Jukic for Radio Mileva
