Balkan Telecoms Ramp Up Investment, Raise the Bar for Local TV Production

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias When it comes to creative pedigree, it would be hard to argue with the bona fides of Bosnian crime drama “The Hollow,” which was co-created by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) and had a splashy premiere Saturday night at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

The series is directed by Tanović and Bosnian filmmaker Aida Begić, whose latest feature, “A Ballad,” also received the red-carpet treatment this week in Sarajevo’s official competition.More than just a prestige drama from a region that’s increasingly exporting its shows to the world, however, “The Hollow” could represent a paradigm shift in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, where global streaming services have been acquiring titles such as “The Paper” (Netflix) and “The Silence” (HBO Max) but are yet to put significant investment into local production. “The Hollow” marks the first foray into original drama by Bosnia’s BH Telecom, which plans to pump 27 million marks ($14 million) into local content by the end of 2024, according to CEO Sedin Kahriman.

Speaking at a showcase of new BH Telecom content in Sarajevo on Tuesday, Kahriman said the investment marks the company’s determination to become “the strongest domestic platform for producing content” in the small Balkan nation, with a slate of premium series in production and development — including “I Know How You Breathe,” a crime drama from Oscar nominee Jasmila Žbanić (“Quo Vadis, Aida?”) — geared toward the international market.It’s a sign of the growing influence of telecoms on the region’s screen industries that the Sarajevo Film Festival set aside two sessions this week for BH Telecom and Serbian powerhouse Telekom Srbija to present their slates to industry guests.On.