Ph: Kevin Paul · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
Honorary Heart of Sarajevo No. 32 2026
Sarajevo Honorary Heart — Diego Luna (2026)
The Mexican actor of Y Tu Mamá También and Rogue One received the Heart on 15 August, presented his directorial feature Ashes, and gave a masterclass.
- Recipient
- Diego Luna
- Awarded
- 2026 · 32nd edition
- Role
- Actor, director and producer
- From
- Mexican
- For
- For his exceptional career and lasting mark on cinema.
Diego Luna received the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo on 15 August 2026 at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival (14–21 August 2026), for his career and what the festival called his “indelible contribution to cinema.” He is the Mexican actor of Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and the series Andor, and a director since Abel (2010) and Mr. Pig (2016).
The 32nd edition screened his latest directorial feature Ashes (2026), which had premiered at Cannes earlier that year. The film concerns migration within Mexico rather than the usual north-to-the-US narrative — a distinction Luna discussed in a Variety interview at the festival, reflecting on political cinema and identity. Luna also gave a masterclass and visited the Variety Lounge during his first time in the Bosnian capital.
He had said, in the announcement, that he had wanted to come to Sarajevo for years — that colleagues had spoken of the festival with such enthusiasm that it was a great honour to be recognised there. He is the third Mexican honouree on the roll, after Gael García Bernal (2014) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (2019) — the festival’s ties to Mexican cinema are among its strongest.
Also honoured in 2026
- Asghar Farhadi Film director and screenwriter
- Emily Watson Actress
- Emir Hadžihafizbegović Actor
- Woody Harrelson Actor, screenwriter, director and playwright