After finishing
gymnasium in
Peja, Sahatçiu studied literature at the
University of Belgrade. Following the interruption of his studies due to compulsory military service, he worked as a
translator for the publisher,
Rilindja. He later studied at the
Academy of Dramatic Art in
Zagreb,
Croatia, and defended his thesis with staging
Gogol's satirical play,
The Government Inspector, at
People's Provincial Theatre in
Pristina. Sahatçiu's
ethnographic film,
117, won the Grand Prix at the Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival in 1978. The film was described as a “spiritual portrait of the nation.” As a
theatre director, Sahatçiu worked at the
National Theatre of Kosovo in Pristina. In 2018, Kosovo's Ministry of Culture posthumously honored Sahatçiu with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematography. The same year, a street in Pristina was named after him. In 2021,
Posta e Kosovës issued
postage stamps in its 'Arti skenik – Besim Sahatçiu dhe Leze Qena' series, commemorating Sahatçiu and
Leze Qena. == Filmography ==