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The 5th edition of AJB DOC opened with the screening of the film "Girl Gang"

The fifth Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC) opened with a ceremony and film screening in the Kovači Multimedia Center.

The 5th edition of AJB DOC opened with the screening of the film "Girl Gang"

The fifth edition of the International Documentary Film Festival AJB DOC, which will last until September 13, opened with the screening of the film "Girl Gang" by author Susanna Regina Meures at the Kovači Multimedia Center.

After the video retrospective of the AJB DOC Film Festival, which the organizers used to note the success of the previous festival editions, Edhem Fočo, the director of AJB DOC, addressed the audience.

"This year's edition gives us the right to be moderately optimistic that we have survived and found our place under the sun. The festival is growing in terms of recognition, influence, number of audiences and projects that we implement every year, and this year we are launching probably the largest and most serious platform for the documentary film industry in this part of the world," said Fočo, along with wishing everyone welcome.


The speech was followed by the official opening of the festival by the director of Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Ahmed Mahfouz, who used the opportunity to congratulate the organizers.

"The Documentary Film Festival was our dream, and Al Jazeera Balkans made it come true. After that, we dreamed of creating the industry segment, and we made that dream come true as well. The entire Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) is part of that industry. I am very proud that we brought great people from the world of documentary film, and I hope that Industry Days@AJB DOC will be the contribution of the AJMN network to the world of documentary film, not only in the region but beyond," said Mahfouz.

The opening ceremony of the festival was followed by the screening of the film "Girl Gang", which tells the story of the dark side of the life of young influencers through the portrait of fourteen-year-old Leonia and her family, after which Susanne Regina Meures, the author of the film, had the opportunity to talk to the audience.


The second film shown at the opening of the festival was "Museum of the Revolution" by Srđan Kečo, which opened the out-of-competition Last Minute Cinema program. The screening took place at Cineplexx at 21:00.

The audience of the AJB DOC Film Festival, which takes place from September 9 to 13, will have the opportunity to watch 25 top-quality films that bring impressive stories and human destinies from all over the world. The complete program, as well as detailed information about the films that will be shown, can be found on the official website of the festival.

The decision on the best film of the AJB DOC Competition Program will be made by an award-winning international jury consisting of film director Aida Begić, director and producer Dana Budisavljević, documentary filmmaker and producer Fatma Riahi, British documentary filmmaker Phil Grabsky and documentary filmmaker Ensar Altay.

All films in the Competition Program shall also be competing for the award of the Al Jazeera Balkans program jury. All films shown at the AJB DOC Film Festival will also be in competition for the Audience Award.

The novelty of this year's edition of AJB DOC is the Industry Days platform, created in cooperation with the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel. This platform will provide documentary filmmakers with an opportunity to connect with managers from the Balkans and beyond, in order to get financing for the production of documentary films from Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as their support in broadcasting, distribution, screening and sales worldwide.

Along with screenings of AJB DOC films, under the auspices of the Info Center of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Galeb Nikačević, journalist and creator of the popular Agelast podcast, will hold a masterclass.

In addition, a three-day training "Production of Documentary Films with a Smartphone" will take place in cooperation with Al Jazeera Media Institute and Samsung.

This year's edition of the AJB DOC Film Festival is held under the auspices of BH Telecom.