The Suburbs, a full-length film by Vinko Moederndorfer

03. July 2003

For a week now Ljubljana has been the setting of the new Slovenian full-length film shoot – THE SUBURBS by the writer and director Vinko Möderndorfer. The shoot begun on the Day of Independence, 25 June, in Litostroj, Ljubljana. In 40 days in Ljubljana and the surroundings, partly also in Bloke and in Kocevje, the team intends to shoot a social drama with a bit of black humour about miserable people without any prospect of success, lost in the abyss of hopelessness and alienation, a story about the rise of xenophobia and nationalism.

Renato Jencek, an actor in the Slovenian National Theatre in Celje, appearing on film for the first time; his group of friends is to be played by Peter Musevski, Jernej Sugman and Silvo Bozic. Alenka Cilensek, an actress in the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor, is going to play the waitress, while Tadej Tos (also an actor in the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor) and Maja Lesnik (a final-year student of the Academy of Arts) are going to play the young couple. Silva Cusin, Marinka Stern, Katarina Stegnar and Iva Zupancic are going to perform in the other roles. The writer and director Vinko Möderndorfer belongs among the leading and most productive Slovenian artists. After studying direction at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television he has directed more than 70 theatre performances and operas, more than 10 radio plays, television plays and documentaries based on his own scripts in the last 20 years. He writes dramas, poems, novelettes, novels, screenplays, essays and radio plays. Until now he has published 23 books. He is a member of the Slovenian Writers' Association. He received several important awards for his work, among them the Borstnik Award for direction (1986), the Zupancic Award of the City of Ljubljana (1994), the Preseren's Foundation Award (2000), the Rozanc Award (2002) and others. For the making of his first film Möderndorfer has assembled an experienced film team with strong international participation. The director of photography is Dusan Joksimoviæ, who worked on films Pretty Village, Pretty Flame, Wounds and We Are Not Angels by the director Srðan Dragojeviæ, Munje by the director Radivoj Andriæ, and he also co-operated with the Slovenian director Andrej Kosak as the director of photography in the making of Headnoise. Eva Rohrman, from Forum Ljubljana, is the producer, Andrej Strazisar is the scenographer (Patriot, Adrian, Triptych of Agata Schwarzkobler), Alenka Korla is the customs designer, Aljana Hajdinjak is the make-up designer (Guardian of the Frontier, (A)torsion, Bread and Milk, Porno Film, etc.), Andrej Stritof is the film manager (Spare Parts, Fortress Europe, Bread And Milk, Ode to the Poet, Porno Film, Mondo Bobo), and Andrija Zafranoviæ is the editor (he has edited more than 70 full-length and television film and participated in the making of many films, which received the awards at the most important world film festivals; he is also a professor and holds the chair of editing at the Belgrade Academy of Arts (worked on the following films: Arizona Dream, Time of the Gypsies, When Father was Away on Business, by Emir Kusturica, The Balkans Spy by Bozidar Nikoliæ and Dusan Kovaceviæ, Deaf Gunpowder by Bata Cengiæ, Spare Parts by Damjan Kozole, and others). The film is produced by the institute Forum Ljubljana, and the realization of the film was made possible by the Film Fund of the Republic of Slovenia and the film studio Viba Film. The film is co-produced by Emotionfilm, Slovenian National Television and VPK. The film is to be completed in the middle of next year. Additional information:
Vera Kovacevic, Studio 3S
Public Relations
GSM: +386 41 779 149
e-mail: vera@studio-3s.si