Dragana Jurišić‘s documentary The Balkan Cowboy to receive World Premiere at 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival
Posted: 23rd July 2026
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is delighted to congratulate director Dragana Jurišić and the entire creative team behind The Balkan Cowboy, which has been selected to receive its World Premiere at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. The film will screen in the Festival’s Documentary Programme, where it will compete for the Oscar-qualifying Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Award.
The film follows artist Dragana Jurišić as she travels to the town of Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to stage a short film in the style of the mythical cult Western director Hari Džekson. In an attempt to uncover the story of Džekson’s life and legacy, Jurišić embarks on making a Western with the local community. She meets his former collaborators, family members, and local residents, piecing together memories of Džekson’s town before the war and getting to know its inhabitants today. The resulting documentary becomes an exploration of the impact of war on Džekson, Jurišić herself, and the town, and asks whether the spirit of Hari Džekson still exists today.
The Balkan Cowboy is directed by Dragana Jurišić, produced by Zlata Filipović and Anna Rodgers for Invisible Thread and co-produced by Oliver Sertić for Restart, with support from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, RTÉ, Coimisiún na Meán and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre.
The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 14th to 21st August 2026.