The first international festival called Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival opened doors on Sunday at Sarajevo's Cinema City and will run until Tuesday (September 25). The Festival's main objective will be to affirm authors and movies dealing with social phenomena and is the end result of the many years of experience of the television Al Jazeera Balkans in the field of production, acquisition and broadcasting of documentaries.

The Festival's director Edhem Fočo said he was very skeptical about the fact that it may not interest such a large number of people but the jam-packed hall in front of him dispelled all doubts. 'We were so smart in everything, we had the best of intentions and that is why Al Jazeera Balkans has become such a success for us. We'd like to showcase more documentaries that tell real stories and truths thru which people could be educated better and empathize with the characters. It makes me really happy that there are people who care about one another and will appreciate the documentary. Sometimes we can't help but we can at least hear the stories of others,' Fočo said.

Tarik Đođić, Managing Director of Al Jazeera Balkans, also addressed the live audience saying that under the auspices of the television and in collaboration with the AJB DOC Festival was born yet another valuable project. 'This was a logical step forward in Al Jazeera Balkans' efforts and hopefully we'll open a new chapter so that this festival could become a beautiful tradition and I think it is safe to say we are the regional leaders in this area. I want all of you to enjoy the documentary achievements our invaluable team has prepared for you,' Đođić said.

The AJB DOC Film Festival was organized by the Al Jazeera Balkans television in cooperation with the Al Jazeera Media Network and the Al Jazeera Media Institute from Doha. Its opening was attended by Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, Head of the Al Jazeera Media Nerwork, who congratulated his colleagues on their efforts in organizing the festival. 'Al Jazeera is a whole industry engaged in the creation of documentaries, films and various art exhibitions as well as high-quality journalists and journalism. Through the documentary people will get to relive different human stories. This region is very important to the world in general, there are secrets we haven't yet discovered and we'll try to discover thru these documentaries,' Nouh said.

Throughout the festival, the audience can expect to see as many as 23 documentary films of top-quality production, including 6 world premieres. The official competition of the AJB DOC festival will present 15 documentary films and in the non-competition round will be presented the best titles from European festivals. Three prizes will be awarded at the Festival. The international professional jury, which will consist of Ingrid Falck, Karin Hayes, Montaser Marai, Robert Zuber and Zoran Galić will select the best film of the Festival and all films will compete for the AJB Program Award. All of the films shown at the Festival will get to compete for the 'Award of the Audience'.

Alongside the live screenings, will also be held trainings and workshops for young authors of documentary movies from the region dealing with investigative journalism.