Gael García Bernal

Bosnia's capital will become a "city that does not sleep" for eight days in the second half of this month, as it celebrates the silver jubilee of the much-loved Sarajevo Film Festival.

The fun starts with a street parade on August 16, marking the opening of the festival, after which 270 films from 56 countries will be shown over the following eight days.

The race for the Oscars heats up this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, where a raft of films will focus on survival in dark times, with mounting political, religious and racial tensions around the world.

Created as an act of resistance to the siege of the city during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, the Sarajevo Film Festival opened on Aug. 15 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.