Diego Luna Brings 'Ashes' to Sarajevo and Accepts Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award
Diego Luna received the honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, where his fourth directorial feature, "Ashes," screened in the Open Air Programme (Variety). The festival ran from 14 to 21 August 2026 (Sarajevo Film Festival). Luna is one of this year's recipients of the award, which recognises contribution to cinema (Variety).
The Mexican actor and director, known to global audiences as the titular lead in "Andor," the Disney+ "Star Wars" spin-off, sat for a masterclass on Saturday 15 August at the Festival Centre — the Bosnian Cultural Centre — from 10:00 to 11:30 (Sarajevo Film Festival). There he shared his experiences and his thoughts on contemporary cinema with young talents (Sarajevo Film Festival). He was also interviewed at the Variety Lounge, presented by the Sarajevo Film Festival and BH Telecom (Variety).
"Ashes" is adapted from a novel by Brenda Navarro and premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival (Variety). The film follows a young Mexican woman, played by Anna Diaz, who leaves Mexico with her younger brother to reunite with their mother in Spain — eight years after the mother fled Mexico for Madrid (Variety). The story portrays the immigrant experience through the eyes of a young woman forced to rebuild her life in a new country (TIFF).
Luna has said that the topic of migration and the question of being uprooted has always fascinated him (Festival de Cannes). He traces his move into directing to becoming a father, saying he wanted to tell his own stories (Variety). "Ashes" is his fourth feature behind the camera, following a Cannes premiere and now a Sarajevo open-air screening before the film continues its festival run.
