The Bulgarian-Greek production is a socially charged drama about corruption. "Slava is an excellent critique of a corrupted society and media," said the three-member jury.

"This is a film with an excellent script and acting which manages to build a big story about untameable Balkan mentality from a small event from the periphery."

The Vilko Filač Award for best director of photography went to documentary Zadnji ledeni lovci (The Last Ice Hunters) by Slovenian directors Jure Breceljnik and Rožle Bregar.

The Slovenian-Icelandic documentary tells a story about contemporary Inuit hunters in Greenland and the changes effecting them over the past 100 years.

"The film has excellent photography which genuinely shows the hard living conditions [of hunters] and contributes largely to the atmosphere of the film," the jury said.

The festival also honoured legendary Slovenian actor Boris Cavazza, who received an award for his contribution to Slovenian film.

Meanwhile, the founder and director of the Sarajavo Film Festival, Mirsad Purivatra, received a special award for his contribution to European film already at the festival opening.

The festival featured more than 30 films between Tuesday and Saturday, thirteen in the competition programme.

It is designed as a way to showcase high-quality European film production from top-tier festivals, with a special emphasis on the Mediterranean.

This year, the country in focus was the United Kingdom.