Sarajevo film festival moves beyond war

The top prize at this year's Sarajevo film festival has been won jointly by the British director, Mike Leigh, and the Taiwanese film-maker, Edward Yang.

The top award for a Bosnian film went to a production called Hop, Skip and Jump, set in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

But a BBC correspondent in the city says the film festival -- now in its sixth year -- has moved beyond its wartime origins and achieved an international reputation.

Apart from Mike Leigh, this year's guests included the pop singer Bono from the group U2 and the actors Willem Dafoe and Steve Buscemi.

In all more than a hundred films from thirty-five countries were shown, including a special programme for children who were brought in from all over Bosnia. The prize was a reel of professional quality film, which Bosnian movie-makers cannot easily afford.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service