Elma Tataragic is festival programmer and screenwriter. She holds PhD in Film and Literature. She wrote several award winning screenplays for films SNOW/ SNIJEG (2008, Cannes Film Festival), WHEN THE DAY HAD NO NAME/ KADA DAN NIJE IMAO IME (2017, Berlin Panorama Special), STITCHES/ ŠAVOVI (2019, Berlinale Panorama) and GOD EXISTS, HER NAME IS PETRUNYA/ BOG POSTOJI, NJENO IME JE PTERUNYA (2019, Berlinale Competition), THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD/ NAJSRETNIJI ČOVJEK NA SVIJETU (Venice FF, 2022) and ONLY WHEN I LAUGH/ SAMO KAD SE SMIJEM (2023). With her films she won numerous awards including awards for best screenplay at Lecce Film Festival, Shanghai Film Festival, etc. She has been with Sarajevo Film Festival since it was founded in 1995, where she now works as main programmer for Competition Program. She also directed several award winning short films including I REMEMBER (2016). She is the Vice-President and member of Filmmakers Association of BiH and Bosnian and Herzegovinian representative of European Film Promotion. She has also written series ZNAM KAKO DIŠEŠ/ I KNOW YOUR BREATH (creator Jasmila Žbanić) and sit-com PRINC IZ ELEJA/ SMASHING IT as creator and screenwriter. For both TV series she has won Heart Of Sarajevo Award in 2024, as well as Heart of Sarajevo for Best sitcom 2024. She teaches screenwriting at Sarajevo Academy of Performing Arts and has written two books on screenwriting. Member of European Film Academy and author of three books on screenwriting including the latest INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING published in 2023.
