The world premiere of the movie Tesko Je Biti Fin (It's Hard to be Nice) by Bosnian director Srdjan Vuletic is to open the 13th Annual Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) in the Bosnian capital on Friday evening.

The nine-day festival, the biggest in south-east Europe, is to offer 176 movies (including 16 world premiers) from more than 30 countries, screened at eight locations in the city.

One of the most vibrant film festivals in Europe in the last decade, the Sarajevo Film Festival, focuses on the region of Southeast Europe. The festival aims to present important and innovative films of high artistic value made throughout the world. In 2006 the festival screened more than 120 features and some 50 short films. This year, Open Forum will bring you an exclusive insight into the world of Southern European cinema.

The movies are presented in 13 programmes including competitive programmes for feature films, shorts and regional documentaries.

The festival also includes a programme designed for children and, as of this year, special educational activities within the SFF Talent Campus, which runs from August 20 to 25as an intense six-day educational course for young filmmakers from south-east European countries. Organized in cooperation with the Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talent Campus, the event offers hands-on skill and talent development courses from a select group of participants - 30 actors, 21 producers and 26 directors. The program integrates discussions, lectures and workshops with internationally-acclaimed industry professionals.

Described by local media as the Cannes of the Balkans, the 13th SFF is to bring to Bosnian capital a number of internationally-known movie stars.

The list includes Oscar-awarded French star Juliette Binoche, who is to introduce director Anthony Minghella's latest movie Breaking and Entering, in which Binoche plays the Bosnian mother of a troubled teen.

American actor Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Reservoir Dogs)is also expected as a special guest of the festival, while his British colleague Jeremy Irons is to chair the jury for the feature film competition.

Many famous directors are also attending the festival, including German director Fatih Akim (Head-On), Irishman Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), and American Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt).

Danis Tanovic, a Bosnian director who won the 2002 Oscar for his No Man's Land is to take part in the Talent Campus, as well as last year's Berlin Golden Bear winner Jasmila Zbanic (Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams).

The highest interest, however, remains for the controversial US director, Oscar and Cannes Festival winner Michael Moore, who is expected to appear in Sarajevo and officially close the festival with his latest piece Sicko. A controversial Austrian director Ulrich Seidl (Dog Days), whose movies would be presented in a special Tribute Programme, is also invited as a special guest.

During the last couple of days before the official opening on the festival people were queuing patiently in front of box offices for tickets, with those for the opening night sold immediately.

The Sarajevo Film Festival was established during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a form of cultural resistance to the killings and massive destruction in the country. The first SFF was held in summer 1994 in the basement of the Sarajevo Performing Arts Academy with the Bosnian premiere of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.