Swedish acting star Stellan Skarsgård will be honored with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the festival’s 31st edition in August, recognizing his significant contributions to cinema and his longstanding relationship with the festival.
Stellan Skarsgård to Receive Sarajevo’s Honorary Heart
Swedish acting star Stellan Skarsgård will be honored with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the festival’s 31st edition in August.
A Longtime Friend of the Festival
The actor is a longtime friend of the festival, serving as a curator and one of the patrons of the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation. The scholarships from this foundation were awarded at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where Skarsgård presented the scholarship to Juanita Wilson at the festival’s 15th edition in 2009.
Skarsgård’s Affection for Sarajevo
“The Sarajevo Film Festival remains unwavering in its aim to highlight subjects of great consequence, underscored by an intense lust for life. I love going there,” said Skarsgård.
Previous Honorees
The actor follows in the footsteps of celebrated Sarajevo honorees such as Meg Ryan, Alexander Payne, Lynne Ramsay, Charlie Kaufman, Jesse Eisenberg, Ruben Östlund, Mads Mikkelsen, and Angelina Jolie.
A Heartfelt Honor
“It is a true honor to present the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo to Stellan Skarsgård, an actor of remarkable depth, strength, and integrity,” said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival. “Stellan has been a longtime friend of Sarajevo, and we are delighted to welcome him back. His career is filled with unforgettable roles in films that challenge, move, and stay with audiences. This award is a heartfelt thank you for his outstanding contribution to cinema and for the continued support he has shown to our festival.”
Skarsgård’s Impressive Career
With over 150 TV and film credits to his name, Skarsgård is one of Sweden’s most internationally celebrated actors. He began acting at the age of fifteen in the Swedish TV series Bombi Bitt and I. Following this initial success, he worked extensively with the prestigious Royal Dramatic Theatre of Stockholm and appeared in various Swedish films.
His international breakthrough came in 1982 with The Simple-Minded Murderer, for which he won the Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Actor. He later collaborated with top Scandinavian directors such as Bo Widerberg and Kjell Grede.
Skarsgård’s first significant Hollywood role was in 1990 as a Russian submarine captain in The Hunt for Red October, marking the start of a prolific international career, including Zero Kelvin (1995), his first of many films with Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland.
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In 1996, he appeared in Breaking the Waves, which initiated his long collaboration with Danish auteur Lars von Trier. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and brought Skarsgård widespread recognition. He later starred in von Trier’s Dogville, Melancholia, and Nymphomaniac.
Skarsgård has worked with influential filmmakers, including Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting), Steven Spielberg (Amistad), John Frankenheimer (Ronin), Paul Schrader (The Exorcist: Dominion), David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Miloš Forman (Goya’s Ghosts).
He entered the blockbuster realm as Bootstrap Bill Turner in two Pirates of the Caribbean films and charmed audiences in Mamma Mia! and its sequel. He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as physicist Erik Selvig in Thor and reprised the role in four additional MCU titles.
On television, Skarsgård starred in the poignant BBC series River by Abi Morgan in 2015. He received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe win for his haunting performance in HBO’s Chernobyl.
He continues to balance prestige and popular work, with a recent voice cameo in The Simpsons, a leading role in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, and acclaimed performances in Andor (Star Wars) and the Cannes 2025 Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value.
Festival Details
The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival runs from August 15 to 22.
