Another Major Recognition for Emir Hadžihafizbegović
One of the region's most significant actors will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival for his outstanding contribution to the art of film.
One of the region's most significant actors will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival for his outstanding contribution to the art of film.
When you look back at the most striking faces of regional cinema, one of the first you'll recognize certainly belongs to Emir Hadžihafizbegović. This actor, whose body of work includes more than a hundred roles in theater, film, and other media, will receive yet another major recognition. At the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival, held from August 14 to 21, 2026, he will be awarded the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The news was confirmed by the festival's director, Jovan Marjanović, who emphasized that among us are artists whose work becomes part of a community's cultural memory. "When we look at Bosnian-Herzegovinian and regional cinema, we recognize Emir Hadžihafizbegović's trace and his roles deeply woven into some of the most significant film achievements," Marjanović told Gloria.
He added that it is a pleasure to award an artist who has marked the cinema of the region he comes from, and whose acting career transcends the boundaries of language, countries, and stages.
Born on August 20, 1961, in Tuzla, Hadžihafizbegović initially had entirely different plans. "When I returned from the army in 1981, which I served in Pula, I went to enroll in journalism, but I was late for the entrance exam. Across the street was the Sarajevo Academy of Performing Arts, and so as not to lose a year, I simply walked in," the actor recalled in an interview with Gloria.
At the entrance exam, there was a huge crowd, and he arrived unprepared and without the necessary documents. Fate turned when the then dean, Razija Lagumdžija, allowed him at the last minute to show what he could do. "I performed Lorca, Yesenin, Tin Ujević, a monologue from 'The Fortress,' and then played and sang a Kemal Monteno song on a guitar borrowed from a student from Belgrade," he said. Out of 260 candidates, forty made the shortlist, and only eight were admitted. With the best results, he joined the class that the celebrated director Emir Kusturica took that year and led for the next four years. He graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo in 1986.
After engagements at the National Theater in Tuzla and the war period, Hadžihafizbegović continued building his career in Sarajevo. He has played more than 70 roles in feature films, and his work has been marked by collaborations with prominent authors such as Rajko Grlić, Ognjen Sviličić, Jasmila Žbanić, Pjer Žalica, and Srđan Vuletić. The films he has appeared in have been awarded at prestigious festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, and Rotterdam.
For his role in the film "Such Are the Rules," he won the award for Best Actor in the Orizzonti program at the Venice International Film Festival and the Golden Arena in Pula. He is also the recipient of the Andrei Tarkovsky Award at the "Zerkalo" International Film Festival in the Ivanovo region of Russia.
As a principal actor and director of the Chamber Theater 55 in Sarajevo, he is the author of four original projects with which he has toured world stages from New York and Toronto to Paris, London, and Sydney. Even after 40 years of career, he says he still hasn't had his fill of acting. Alongside this recognition, he is also preparing a large autobiographical monograph titled "Life Is a Wise Preparation for Death."
"I always remember a thought: 'If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.' Nothing is coincidental," Hadžihafizbegović concluded his life story about a missed entrance exam for journalism that led him into the world of acting greats.
