The fifth edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival's Avant Premieres section, launched in 2014 with the intention of strengthening the regional cinema network, improving placements, and promoting and distributing films from the region, was its largest so far. 

The Avant Premiere Gala, in which new, highly anticipated films and TV series are screened, included the first two episodes of the Norwegian TV series Home Ground by director Arild Andresen (Handle with Care [+leggi anche:
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The section dedicated to Balkan distributors, Avant Premiere Trailers, showcased 31 films represented in the region by Serbian companies Art Vista (two upcoming Serbian titles, South Wind and Taxi Blues) and Megacom Film (no fewer than 11 films, including Cold War [+leggi anche:
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Finally, the Avant Premiere Lab, an educational programme founded to address the most pressing issues in film exhibition and distribution, this year focused on audience development.

In the section entitled "Creating a Sustainable Business Model", Edita Bilaver Galinec, from Croatia's Kids Meet Art, spoke about the long-term strategy for audience development, and the BFI's Laura Glanville discussed how this institution supports this particular important aspect of distribution. 

Juliette Duret, from Belgium's BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Csenkiné Túri Edit, from Hungary's Otthon Mozi, and Stefan Kitanov, from Bulgaria's Cinema House, described how their institutions and cinemas create popular programmes and events.

Finally, in the "Sow Today and Reap Tomorrow" section, Živa Jurančić, from Slovenia's Kinodvor, Darko Bašeski, from the Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival, and Elise Jalladeau, from the Thessaloniki IFF, related their experiences with attracting young audiences and keeping them interested.