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Response from The Omladinski Film Festival Sarajevo

Film Industry Watch — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 07:07:01 +0000

In response to the recent post “Omladinski Film Festival Sarajevo: Mounting Allegations of Non-Payment, Intimidation & Financial Mismanagement”, the festival sent us the following response:

Dear colleagues,

In response to the article published on your website regarding the Youth Film Festival Sarajevo (OFF) which was brought to our attention, we are writing to provide a formal rebuttal to the claims made by anonymous authors. We will respect that and will not publish full names.

Firstly, Mr. Muhamed Almughani, director of the film “An Orange from Jaffa”, has been fully paid the prize amount awarded to him, which is €1,000. The award was sponsored by the Festival’s main partner. The jury decided to allocate the remaining €500 of the €1,500 prize fund to another film. This prize structure was publicly communicated via our official website and social media channels as early as last year weeks before!

Furthermore, there is written correspondence from the producers and distributors of Mr. Almughani’s film requesting that the film not be screened, citing that Mr. Almughani did not hold the rights to it. Since he submitted a signed statement claiming rights ownership and the film had already been publicly announced, the Festival did not remove it. Had it not been published already, we would have withdrawn it.

As such, the Festival is now considering withdrawing the prize and requesting a refund from the mr. Almughani. All other accusations made by Mr. Almughani have already been handed over to legal counsel in Poland, where he currently resides. We have also reported an attempt of financial extortion to the local police.

As for the alleged “bribe” of €200, this was not a bribe nor a hush offer — it was a friendly gesture from the Festival as a goodwill compensation for what we understood to be a misunderstanding on the author’s side.

Regarding anonymous authors who claim they were not paid — these accusations are false and misleading. Consider the fact that the Festival hosts over 300 film professionals annually, which amounts to around 1,500 professionals in the past five years. Out of that number, only 5–6 individuals have ever raised such allegations. — In some of those cases, it is true that travel refunds were not processed immediately. However, this was due to authors failing to provide valid production company invoices or insisting on receiving payments via PayPal to avoid taxes or because they lacked legal production entities. Under Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Transaction Law, and due to the fact that we are not part of the SEPA payment system, banks in BiH cannot process such payments without proper documentation and invoices.

The media reports cited are not credible. Only one media outlet contacted us for a statement; all other allegations were published without any attempt to verify with the Festival.

The Festival holds all payment confirmations, email correspondence, and screenshots, but refrains from publishing them out of respect for confidentiality and business ethics. All screenshots released publicly have been shared by the authors themselves.

It is important to note that Mr. Almughani misled his colleagues by failing to disclose that he had been paid. As a result, several colleagues, acting in good faith, signed letters that have harmed the Festival’s reputation and slowed down payment transfers from sponsors and partners. This delay has impacted three authors from the 2024 co-production market whose payments, initially planned for June, have now been postponed until the end of the year.

Furthermore, your article contains incorrect claims. For the sake of public information: The Youth Film Festival Sarajevo is owned by a registered association. The Festival Director is not the sole decision-maker, nor the only authorized person involved, and the decisions are not made by any single individual. We therefore categorically reject the claims made in your article and formally request that this rebuttal be published in accordance with media standards. Also, your suggestions in the article regarding the revision have no legal grounds in Bosnia and Hezergovina, and you should consider remowing it. All Festival reports for 2024 and revisions came out clean as positive which was confirmed also by Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport.

Your current publication contains elements of defamation.

our accusations that Director Kenan Musić uses Facebook to publish rebuttals, screenshots of emails, and attacks on authors and authorities are entirely false. This can be publicly verified, as he has never made any such statements on Facebook — aside from sharing links.

We demand the immediate removal of this claim, as well as any other content for which you have no evidence.

Regarding the Festival Director’s and Festival team’s travels to other festivals — these trips are financed either directly by international partners or by the Festival itself. This applies to every trip taken this year where Director Musić and team members were officially invited. For each trip, there are formal invitations, confirmations of ticket purchases by the Festival or organizers, and all relevant documentation.

Furthermore, you reference a Reddit post from May, warning authors not to submit to the Festival. This only demonstrates how unfounded the accusations of a few individuals truly are — as this year the Festival received a record number of submissions, including during the June free waiver campaign.

For over 15 years, we have been building this Festival and its accompanying Industry Market with passion and dedication — for authors, professionals, and the wider community. OFF has become one of the most important cultural and industry events in Southeast Europe, a status recognized across the continent.

We have proven that OFF holds tremendous value for a large number of authors who return year after year and who continue to support us through difficult times.

The Festival invests tens of thousands of euros annually in travel and accommodation costs. Therefore, if the claims made were accurate, one must ask: How is it possible that 280 authors and professionals attend each year without issue, while only 3 complain?

This is the real question that needs to be asked when publishing such headlines.

This is not a threat — it is a formal warning that, as with any organization protecting its rights and reputation, our legal team will undertake all lawful actions against anyone who attempts to defame or damage the integrity of the Festival through false claims.

It is true that the Festival has faced financial challenges for years, primarily due to the inadequate support from some governmental and institutional structures towards cultural projects.

Nonetheless, the fact that we continue to organize the second-largest cultural event in the country speaks volumes about the quality of our management and leadership.

Recent events involving Mr. Almughani — who, in a phone conversation where he threatened staff and the Festival Director, confirmed receiving support from local industry elites who advised him how to escalate the issue publicly — only confirm our earlier warnings. Over the past year, we have repeatedly pointed to cases of theft, manipulation, and corruption in cultural funding processes. It was only a matter of time before retaliation would occur — now disguised under the narrative of “wronged authors.” (https://www.klix.ba/magazin/film-tv/umu-upozorava-odluke-fondacije-za-kinematografiju-su-uvod-u-uspostavu-monopola-u-filmskoj-umjetnosti/241216156 , https://www.klix.ba/magazin/film-tv/umu-trazi-hitno-ponistenje-odluke-fondacije-za-kinematografiju-i-smjenu-upravnog-odbora/241219187 etc.)

We maintain deep respect for short films, their creators, and young filmmakers and we fight publicly for it all the time, and for that reason we are under heavy attack for the last few years. We have demonstrated this commitment time and time again. Our approach remains unchanged: we will continue to collaborate with filmmakers and industry professionals who value the efforts and integrity of the Festival — and we will proudly continue to support them, as we always have.

The post Response from The Omladinski Film Festival Sarajevo first appeared on Film Industry Watch.

Omladinski Film Festival Sarajevo: Mounting Allegations of Non-Payment, Intimidation & Financial Mismanagement

Vlad H — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 07:15:14 +0000

July 19th – in response to this post, the festival sent us an email, posted here.

We want to thank the reader that brought this issue to our attention. Please continue to contact us anonymously if you have anything to report.

The Omladinski Film Festival (OFF) in Sarajevo bills itself as a vibrant platform for youth cinema. Yet behind the marketing gloss, a growing chorus of filmmakers, industry suppliers, artists and former guests describe a pattern of unpaid fees, delayed prize money, intimidation and opaque accounting that stretches back at least seven years.

This in-depth report collates the chronicle of complaints, examines how OFF’s leadership responds, and traces the wider impact on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s publicly subsidised festival circuit.

Anatomy of a Crisis

A Wave of Unpaid Prizes (2024 Edition)

In May 2025, leading Bosnian daily Klix.ba published an open letter from three 2024 OFF award-winners—Palestinian director Mohammed Almughanni, Turkish filmmaker Nehir Tuna and Turkish producer Nur Sultan Bulut—alleging that, months after the closing gala, they had not received full cash prizes and had faced “silence, broken promises and manipulative threats” from festival director Kenan Musić.
Klix’s follow-up investigation unearthed additional prize-winners and crew who reported similar experiences, describing a systematic withholding of funds unless recipients accepted partial payments or signed non-disclosure arrangements.

Suppliers & Performers Left Out-of-Pocket (2018 – 2023)

Bosnian singer Armin Muzaferija publicised a court ruling ordering Musić’s NGO (Udruženje mladih umjetnika) to pay 1,346.40 KM in overdue technical-rental invoices dating to 2018, plus interest.
An events-equipment company in Zagreb told Klix it had received “less than 50 percent” of agreed fees for technical services during the 2023 festival after months of ignored reminders.

International Guests Financing Their Own Trip

Multiple invited guests from 2023 and 2024 editions told Film Industry Watch that OFF required them to pay airfare and accommodation upfront, promising prompt reimbursement. More than a year later, they remain unpaid. Some say Musić warned them privately “you will never see a cent if you go public,” echoing intimidation language reported by prize-winners in the Klix letter.

Debt Acknowledged—But Blame Shifted

Confronted with the growing backlash, Musić issued a written statement to Klix on 27 May 2025 acknowledging that OFF “finished last year with debts exceeding 80,000 KM” while insisting critics were motivated by “extortion” and that the festival would settle accounts when “cash-flow allows”.

Who Pays for OFF? Public Subsidies, Private Questions

OFF’s branding emphasises youth empowerment and cultural diplomacy. However, unlike wholly private showcases, OFF relies heavily on municipal, cantonal and national cultural funds as well as tourism boards. That means unpaid debts ultimately undermine taxpayer-funded cultural policy.

Sarajevo Canton allocated direct grants to OFF in successive pre-pandemic budgets (public documents show annual line items between 50,000 KM and 90,000 KM).
The festival appears on promotional rosters of the national tourism authority and regularly secures in-kind sponsorship from publicly owned operators (e.g., venue waivers, marketing support).

Yet OFF does not publish audited accounts. Inquiries by local journalists for detailed expenditure have gone unanswered. Former staffers interviewed for this report claim financial decisions are “centralised around Musić personally” with no independent board oversight—an arrangement they say enables rolling deficits to accumulate without formal sanction.

Patterns of Intimidation

Threats to Filmmakers

Both Almughanni and other complainants allege that Musić threatened to smear their reputations or block future Balkan festival submissions if they pursued payment.

Aggressive Posturing on Social Media

Musić’s public Facebook responses often accuse critics of lying or “waging political campaigns.” In several cases he screenshot private messages and posted them publicly, prompting harassment of the complainants in comment threads (archived examples reviewed by FIW correspondents).

“Plausible Deniability”

Insiders describe a playbook:

Delay – stall payments citing “bank issues.”
Divide – pay partial sums to a few creditors, encouraging silence.
Deflect – when press coverage arises, label claims “blackmail,” demand critics show full invoices, and dispute totals.
Distract – announce new partnerships (e.g., Instagram posts from Berlinale markets, Clermont-Ferrand and Figari) signalling international credibility despite outstanding debts.

International Circuit, Local Liabilities

Despite the debt cloud, Musić travelled in 2025 to Berlinale, Clermont-Ferrand’s EuroConnection market and Spain’s Mecal, posting selfies under the hashtag #OFF2025 along with teasers for a “17th edition, bigger than ever.” Industry observers worry guest curators abroad are unaware of the unresolved liabilities at home.

A Reddit warning thread in r/FilmFestivals dating back to May 2025—now pinned—advises filmmakers to “avoid submission” until OFF resolves historic debts. Producers in Germany and France told FIW they now insert “cash-due-upon-award” clauses when signing Balkan festival acceptances, a direct consequence of the Sarajevo controversy.

A Broader Balkan Phenomenon?

OFF is not the first regional festival embroiled in non-payment scandals, but the scale and length of the allegations set it apart. Analysts point to recurring risk factors:

Funding Volatility – partial reliance on last-minute public grants delays cash flows.
Personality-Driven Governance – festivals founded by charismatic individuals often lack independent boards.
Limited Legal Recourse – cross-border claimants face high legal costs to pursue modest sums.

Bosnia’s ministry of culture has no dedicated mechanism to audit festival finances beyond confirming grant receipts. Cultural-law experts propose tying future subsidies to transparency benchmarks (published budgets, creditor registries, independent trusteeship for prize funds).

Voices of the Unpaid

“From the stage they praised our films, but once the photos were posted, the emails stopped.”
— Mohammed Almughanni, director, An Orange from Jaffa

“I paid €400 flights from my student loan. They promised reimbursement within two weeks. That was July 2024. I’m still waiting.”
— Anonymous guest programmer (statement to FIW, corroborated by email thread)

“We delivered screening gear to four venues. After closing night they vanished. Two months later they offered 50 percent ‘to settle quickly’.”
— Technical-services firm, Zagreb

Legal Avenues & Barriers

Bosnia’s civil code allows creditors to sue for unpaid invoices plus statutory interest. However, court fees and translation costs often exceed the value of festival debts (<3,000 € per claim).
Foreign award-winners may seek enforcement through EU small-claims regulation, but Bosnia is not an EU member, complicating cross-border rulings.
Collective action could empower claimants yet informal networks of young filmmakers rarely possess resources for group litigation.

Paths to Accountability

Grant Conditionality – cultural-fund contracts should require zero outstanding debts before new subsidies are disbursed.
Escrow Prize Funds – mandate that cash awards be deposited with an independent trustee prior to festival announcements.
Independent Board – OFF could be required to add external fiscal overseers (e.g., representatives from Sarajevo’s film school, union, and chamber of commerce).
Public Credit Registry – a database of verified festival debts would enable filmmakers to assess risk before submission.
Whistle-blower Support – programs like Film Industry Watch’s new $25,000 Whistleblower Fund can defray legal and travel costs for complainants.

Conclusion: Reputation on the Line

The prestige of any festival ultimately rests on trust—trust that contractual prizes will be honoured, travel expenses reimbursed, and artists treated fairly. OFF’s refusal to settle debts while courting new partnerships threatens to erode not only its own brand but also international confidence in Bosnia’s festival landscape.

Stakeholders—from public funders to global festivals that invite OFF’s leadership on juries—must weigh the reputational cost of inaction. Without transparent financial remedies and a cultural shift toward accountability, Sarajevo’s signature youth event risks becoming a cautionary tale of how unchecked ambition can eclipse artistic merit and ethical stewardship.

Sources (chronological)

The post Omladinski Film Festival Sarajevo: Mounting Allegations of Non-Payment, Intimidation & Financial Mismanagement first appeared on Film Industry Watch.