Annual photography festival held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| Balkan Photo Festival |
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| Genre | Photography festival |
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| Date(s) | January |
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| Frequency | annual |
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| Location(s) | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| Years active | 2010 - present |
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| Founder | Urban Foundation |
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| Area | worldwide |
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| Organised by | Urban Foundation |
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| Website | balkanphotofest.com |
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Balkan Photo Festival is an annual photography festival held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1][2][3][4] It is held in January of every year and is the legal successor of the now-defunct Festival of Bosnian Photography.[5] The festival was established in 2010 by the Urban Foundation in cooperation with the Association of Professional Photographers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the online photography journal fotografija.ba.[6][7] The 2011 edition was the first to be internationalized.[8] Balkan Photo Festival is the largest photography festival in the Balkans, receiving more than 5,000 submissions annually.[9][10][11]
Format
The festival is composed of three main programs: competition, education and networking.[12][13] The competition program is further composed of 11 categories out of which 11 eventual winners are chosen. The 11 categories are as follows: Nudity, Fashion, Cultural Heritage, Mobile Phone, Sports and Leisure, Portrait, Abstract, Nature and Landscapes, News and Politics, Press.[14] Submissions for the competition program are accepted from the beginning of December with the final selection being made during the first week of January.[15] The festival is opened on the last Monday of January with a large festival-long exhibition of all the photographs selected for the competition program.[16] A panel made up of eminent international photographers judges the entries and decides on the winners.[17][18] The winners receive the Balkan Photo Award in their category.[19] The education program kicks off after the festival opening and is made up of lectures and workshops organized in numerous venues across the city.[20] The networking program, which is of an informal nature, includes round table discussions, tours of the city called photo safaris, interactive café lectures and concerts.[21] The 2017 edition established the Justice for Every Child program in cooperation with UNICEF.[22][23][24]
