THE FESTIVAL
The Silver Frame Film Festival, founded in 2024, is an international competitive and educational film festival held in Srebrenica and Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The festival presents a selection of short and feature films from around the world, alongside film residencies, workshops, masterclasses and community-based activities. It creates opportunities for learning, artistic exchange and dialogue, bringing together filmmakers, students, local communities and international guests through cinema.
WHY
"SILVER FRAME"
Srebrenica derives its name from the word “ srebro” (silver), in Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. The town was named for the silver and other ores that were once discovered and mined in this region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As early as ancient times, particularly during the Roman Empire, Srebrenica was known as an important mining center.
Its name can be understood as a “city of silver,” reflecting this history. The name “Silver Frame” connects this heritage with a new context, a place where stories, images and creativity take shape.
Today, the name of our festival reflects both that rich heritage and Srebrenica’s new life as a place of creativity, culture, and artistic expression.
PROGRAMME
The festival presents a selection of short and feature films from around the world.
The programme focuses on stories of love, friendship and care for the environment, while also engaging with contemporary social themes. It reflects the context in which the festival takes place, a place still shaped by the consequences of the past.
Film selections are made in collaboration with international professionals and festival programmers, ensuring a diverse and thoughtful programme.
ACTIVITIES
Beyond screenings, the festival develops film residencies, workshops and masterclasses.
The Green Film Residency and the Documentary Film Residency bring together regional and international participants with local youth to create short films during the festival.
The programme also includes film workshops and masterclasses, creating space for learning, exchange and critical reflection on cinema.
Activities take place across multiple locations — cultural centers in Srebrenica and Bratunac, open-air cinema settings, and within the International Youth Work Camp Emmaus.
The aim is to create a space for connection — through film, but also through trust, friendship and collaboration.
An important part of the festival is the involvement of the local community. During the festival, local women present their handmade work through a small market and take part in traditional food workshops, contributing to a shared cultural experience. High school students from Srebrenica and Bratunac are also involved as members of the youth jury.
CONTEXT
The festival takes place in Srebrenica and Bratunac, two neighbouring towns in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today, they are places where people live, work and build their lives, often with limited cultural infrastructure.
Shaped by their recent history, these communities continue to rebuild everyday life through connection, presence and shared experience.
Within this context, the festival creates a space for connection, dialogue and shared experience through cinema.
ORGANIZER
Srebrenica stands at the heart of the festival, giving it both its home and its symbolic meaning. Beginning in 2025, the festival expanded its activities through collaborations with the Cultural Center Srebrenica and the Cultural Center Bratunac, bringing screenings, workshops, and public events to both towns. In this way, Silver Frame grows as a shared cultural space, connecting communities and bringing cinema to a wider audience.
Admon Film Association is the principal organizer of the Silver Frame Film Festival in Srebrenica. The festival is held in close partnership with the International Forum of Solidarity Emmaus.
EVOLUTION
From 2019 to 2023, the project Cortovisioni: How to Make a Short Film was implemented within the Emmaus International Working Camp, in collaboration with the Admon Film Association and the International Forum of Solidarity – Emmaus.
Through film workshops and outdoor screenings, many participants had the opportunity to learn the basics of filmmaking — from shooting and editing to understanding how a film comes to life.
They also experienced what it means to present their work in front of an audience, most of whom were volunteers of the Emmaus International Working Camp.
These activities created a dynamic platform that laid the foundation for the Silver Frame Film Festival.
Above all, the festival is a place of sharing and connection — among people and with nature, under the stars. Every night after the screenings, people gather around a campfire. It becomes a small, temporary home where no one is a stranger.
In Bosnian culture, this feeling is described by the word čejf — a quiet sense of ease and presence.
Around the fire, that feeling becomes shared. People meet, listen and connect beyond language and background. This is the hidden heart of the festival: a place where friendships begin and where the experience continues beyond the screen.
