SARAJEVO,Bosnia - American filmaker,Oscar and Cannes Festival winner,Michael Moore officially closed yesterday the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival with his latest film ``Sicko'',which deals with health care problems in the United States.
Upon his arrival Moore met with the members of the press in the Meeting Point Cinema where a public interview was held. Later the same day, Moore presented his latest documentary "Sicko" in the Heineken Open Air Cinema.
"Sicko" is a 2007 documentary film by Michael Moore that investigates the American health care system, focusing on its for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the non-universal and for-profit U.S. system with the universal and non-profit systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Cuba. "Sicko" cites the United States as the only industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care to its citizens,highlights cases in which insured individuals were denied care, and condemns for-profit health care for maximizing profit at the expense of patient care.
"Sicko" opened to positive reviews, but also generated controversy. A month earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department began an investigation into Moore's trip to Cuba.
"Sicko" debuted in the U.S. on June 22, 2007, earning $4.6 million in 441 theatres and achieving the second highest opening weekend for a documentary, after (Moore's) Fahrenheit 9/11.
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.U.S. documentary director Michael Moore (L) and director of the Sarajevo Film Festival Mirsad Purivatra arrive at the press projection of the Moore's provocative "SiCKO" in Sarajevo August 25, 2007.
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.U.S. director Michael Moore on the red carpet at the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Saturday, Aug 25, 2007. A total of 176 movies from more than 30 countries were presented within 13 programmes during the nine-day long festival. Since it was established in 1994 during the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia as a form of cultural resistance,SFF became one of the most respected film festivals in the region and one of 10 biggest film festivals in Europe.
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.U.S. directors Michael Moore and Steve Buscemi on the red carpet at the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Saturday, Aug 25, 2007.
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.U.S. movie director Michael Moore (L) and actor director Steve Buscemi stand in the red carpet area at the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival August 25, 2007. Moore was invited as special guest of this years edition of the festival where he presented his newest movie "Sicko" and Buscemi was awarded a special "Heart of Sarajevo" award as a long time friend of the festival.
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.U.S actor Steve Buscemi holds up the "Special Heart Of Sarajevo Award" that was awarded to him for his contribution to the development of the Sarajevo Film Festival and Bosnian cinematography. The festival, established during the 1992-95 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia, had 176 movies from around the world competing for "Heart of Sarajevo" award.
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.U.S. documentary director Michael Moore talks to the press in Sarajevo August 25, 2007 ahead of the projection of his provocative "SiCKO" about the U.S. health care system, which closed the 13th Sarajevo Film Festival.
