By Variety | Created at 2026-06-11 10:58:37 | Updated at 2026-06-11 23:47:32
14 hours ago
British actress Emily Watson will serve as president of the jury for the Feature Film Competition Program at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. She will also receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the festival, in recognition of her contribution to world cinema.
Jovan Marjanović, director of the festival said Watson was an actress “whose talent, intelligence and dedication to the craft have left a profound mark on contemporary cinema.” Watson has, throughout her career, “moved audiences and critics alike with performances of extraordinary emotional precision and strength,” he added.
Watson was nominated for Academy Awards for “Hilary and Jackie” and “Breaking the Waves,” and received both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for “Chernobyl.”
She was BAFTA nominated for “Breaking the Waves,” “Hilary and Jackie” and “Angela’s Ashes,” and received a BAFTA TV Award for “Appropriate Adult.” Other notable roles include in “Gosford Park,” “The Dresser,” “Synecdoche, New York” and “The Theory of Everything.”
in 2015, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Drama, and last year she was awarded the prestigious Richard Harris Award at the 2025 BIFAs, which recognized her outstanding contribution to British film.
Most recently, she starred as Mary Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” for which she was BAFTA nominated.
On television, she starred as the lead, opposite Olivia Williams and Mark Strong, in the HBO Max series “Dune: Prophecy” and has just finished shooting the second season.
The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from Aug. 14 to 21.
