Sandra Wollner and ‘Everytime’ Hit Sarajevo on the Festival Circuit: “You Can Feel the History Here”
Austrian director Sandra Wollner has brought her third feature, "Everytime", to the competition line-up at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, following its premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in May. The film marks Wollner's Cannes debut and is now reaching new audiences on the wider festival circuit, giving her insight into how different cultures respond to its themes of grief and memory.
Starring Birgit Minichmayr, "Everytime" follows a mother, her young daughter and a teenage boy travelling to Tenerife to cope with the death of the eldest daughter, with Wollner's trademark surrealist style blurring past and present. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter from Sarajevo's National Theatre, Wollner reflected on the festival's origins during the 1995 siege, saying she could sense a distinct local approach to trauma and loss, and spoke about balancing artistic ambition with the realities of funding non-commercial European cinema.
In short
- Wollner's "Everytime" screens in competition at Sarajevo after Cannes premiere
- Film explores grief via a family's trip to Tenerife
- Wollner reflects on Sarajevo's history shaping audience reactions
Explained simply
The Sarajevo Film Festival began during the siege of the city in the 1990s and has since become a major film event in south-east Europe. Its history is part of the setting in which visiting filmmakers meet local audiences, whose experiences and perspectives may differ from those elsewhere.
Sandra Wollner is an Austrian filmmaker whose earlier features established a surreal style, often shifting how viewers understand time and events. Her film follows a family travelling to Tenerife after the death of an older daughter, with Birgit Minichmayr among its stars; grief and memory are central to its story.
The film’s route through international festivals brings it before audiences with different cultural backgrounds. Its production also sits within a wider challenge for European filmmakers: finding support for films that may not be designed for large commercial audiences.
Art Culture Entertainment Europe Film World