Teona Strugar Mitevska’s The Happiest Man in the World captured the BHFF 2023 Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 19th annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City Golden Apple Awards ceremony. Jelena Kordić Kuret was awarded the Jury Award for Best Acting Performance for her role as Asja in the film.

The jury commented, “Mitevska’s The Happiest Man in the World is a beautifully conceived and deliberately paced film, where an intimate story about an embarrassing speed-dating event and a desire for a romantic connection, shot in a single location, is merely a conceit to tell a much a larger narrative about the perplexing ways in which lasting collective trauma is engraved in the individual’s psyche. A strong and inspired script, evocative cinematography, and amazing performances converge to make this film a powerful exploration of pain, freedom, forgiveness, and healing.”

TheJury Award for Best Documentary Film went to Farah Hasanbegović’s Ribs, with the jury commenting, “Ribs by Farah Hasanbegović is a short masterclass in how animation form was artfully used to translate a medical condition into a powerful and lyrical cinematic work.”

The Audience Award went to A Ballad, a narrative feature film by Aida Begić.

Other awards including to Jury Award for Best Short Narrative Film went to Aleksandra Odić’s Frida, and Smirna Kulenović’s Our Family Garden received the Jury Special Mention.

Artistic Director Amir Husak and Programmer Dijana Jelača say: “We are more than delighted that this year’s program was composed of majority female directors and screenwriters, as greater diversity and inclusion has long been a key focus and priority of our festival. On behalf of the entire BHFF team, congratulations to the winners and thank you to our guests, jury, donors, and audience members, who all came together to make the 19th annual BHFF a spectacular achievement.”