Slovenian Attack on the Rotterdam Film festival

02. January 2008
The Rotterdam Film Festival is considered one of the most prestigious festivals of authorial film in the world that paid its attention to Slovenian films several times during the last years.

Ljubljana directed by Igor Šterk was the most successful by ranging into the competitive programme. The last films to participate on the festival were Ruins by Janez Burger in 2005 and What Are You Going To Do When You Get Out Of Here? by Iztok Kovač and Sašo Podgoršek in 2006.

However, considering the number of films, the Slovenian participation on the 37th execution of the Dutch festival (23 January -3 February 2008) beats all the others. The full-length L…Like Love directed by Janja Glogovac was invited into the main programme. This will be the international premiere of the film that saw its world’s premiere on the Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorož.

Cast: Lucija Serbedžija, Labina Mitevska, Ksenija Mišič, Uliks Fehmiu, Davor Janjiæ, Marko Mandiæ, Sebastijan Cavazza, and Iva Zupančič, director of photography is Igor Luther, and the producer is Radovan Mišič. The film was co-financed by the Slovenian Film Fund – public fund. Its distribution in Slovenian theatres is to be launched in February 2008.

The Rotterdam selectors were also convinced by the story about “two typical Slovenian families” Janez Burger showed in his short film On the Sunny Side of Alps, the Portorož laureate for best short film. The film was made in the production of Staragara and with the financial support of the Film Fund.

The new full-length feature film directed by Damjan Kozole Forever as well got an invitation into the main programme. Kozole made the film in the independence production, in his flat in six nights. It tells an intimate story, in which, according to the author, everyone will find a piece of themselves.

Cast: Marjuta Slamič and Dejan Spasiæ, director of photography is Aleš Belak, music in the film is the contribution of Igor Leonardi, Laibach, and Patetico, and Danijel Hočevar is the producer.

Between 27 and 31 January Cinemart, the oldest Co-production Market, is to take place as part of the festival, 550 projects applied for. Among thirty-nine accepted film projects the new project by Igor Šterk with the working title Ofsajd was listed. This is the only project in this selection to be accepted from Central Europe and republics of the former Yugoslavia.