Slovenian films at Berlinale 2005
1. Slovenian achievements at the Berlinale Film Festival in the last decade:
- In the year 2000 Hop, Skip & Jump by Srdjan Vuletiæ was the best film in the Panorama section
- In 2002 the feature film Guardian of the Frontier received the Manfred Salzgeber Award for the most innovative European film (it was shown in the Panorama section)
- In 2003 the short film Atorsion received the Golden Bear
- In 2003 the feature film Spare Parts was the first Slovenian film after the Slovenian independence which qualified for the competition section of Berlinale
This year the short film Child in Time by Maja Weiss is the second Slovenian short film after Atorsion which qualified for the competition section, and Maja Weiss's second qualification for the Berlin festival after her feature film Guardian of the Frontier.
2.Membership in EFP (European Film Promotion)
With the year 2005 Slovenia became the 23rd member of EFP (European Film Promotion), which has since 1997 worked on the promotion and recognition of European film. The Film Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, a member of EFP, suggested Aleksandra Balzamoviæ as the first Slovenian actress in the Shooting Stars project, which is this year going to take place for the eighth time. From 11 to 13 February 21 promising European actors and actresses are going to present themselves in Berlin.
More information at: http://www.efp-online.com/
3.The Berlin Co-production Market
The Berlin festival is not only one of the most important festivals for new films, it is also becoming increasingly important in regard to the arrangements about the films which are still coming. On 13 and 14 February the second Berlin co-production market, where 30 projects from 21 countries are to be presented, is going to take place. Andrej Košak is the only author from Slovenia who qualified for this market with his film project Don't Cry for Me Europe. An important piece of information: the projects were selected from 230 film projects that applied! The team of the Berlin market will make it possible for the chosen producers to meet with the potential financers and co-producers.
4.The Conclusion of the East of Eden Workshop
East of Eden is a film workshop intended especially for the filmmakers from the new countries of the European Union and provides professional training in the field of the feature film development for the teams of screenwriters, directors and producers. In 2004 the selected projects were perfected in Bled, in Spain and in Denmark, and as a conclusion they were also invited to Berlin from 10 to 13 February. Two projects represent Slovenian film: Installation of Love by Maja Weiss and Tea by Hanna A. W. Slak.
5.The Third Talent Campus
Talent Campus is going to take place from 12 to 17 February. This year the young film talents from different states are going to study the so-called production design with their mentors. Petar Pašiæ, the screenwriter and director, who shot a short film Last Wish in 2003, qualified for the Campus. In order to apply he had to send a one-minute film, which convinced the selectors of his talent.
The film Something Memorable, the result of the one-week Masters workshop, which was supervised by the director Mike Figgis in Ljubljana, had its world premiere in the Ljubljana Kinodvor cinema. Its international premiere is going to take place on 17 February in Berlinale in the context of Talent Campus.