The Film Summer Abroad

12 Slovenian films, 5 full-length and 7 short ones, are going to 12 film festivals in Europe, North and South America, the former Yugoslavia states and the Near East.

1. Guardian of the Frontier by Maja Weiss: Karlovy Vary – The Czech Republic, Los Angeles – USA, Philadelphia – USA, Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montreal – Canada
2. Bread And Milk by Jan Cvitkovic: Karlovy Vary – The Czech Republic, Jerusalem – Israel, Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Motovun – Croatia
3. Ljubljana by Igor Sterk: Karlovy Vary – The Czech Republic, Palic – Serbia
4. Blind Spot by Hanna A. W. Slak: Locarno – Switzerland
5. The Last Supper by Vojko Anzeljc: Palic – Serbia
6. Glazier Blues by Harry Rag: Vila do Conde – Portugal
7. Perkmandeljc by Dusan Kastelic: Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paolo – Brasil
8. Atorsion by Stefan Arsenijeviæ: Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina
9. Hop, Skip & Jump by Srdjan Vuletiæ: Palic – Serbia
10. Director’s Cut by Boris Petkovic: Motovun – Croatia
11. 11. & 12. Healthy People for Entertainment & On Love Skills or a Film with 14441 Squares by Karpo Godina: Motovun – Croatia

The next Slovenian film that managed to place itself on the map of the big film festivals is the debut by Hanna A.W. Slak, Blind Spot. The film is going to have its world premiere at the 55th International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland. Blind Spot is the first Slovenian full-length film that managed to qualify for the Locarno festival, which is known especially for presenting the films by the young talents. At this festival, where the award is the Leopard, Blind Spot is going to participate in the non-competition section Filmmakers of the Present. In the film part of this section Blind Spot is the only film coming from East Europe, while otherwise the films are from France, Germany, Italy, etc. Our film is to be presented to the Swiss audience between 1 August and 10 August. The other three films that were presented at big festivals in the last year are Bread And Milk by Jan Cvitkovic, which received the Lion of the Future award in Venice, Ljubljana by Igor Sterk, which qualified for the competition program of the Rotterdam film festival, and Guardian of the Frontier by Maja Weiss, the winner of the award for the most innovative European film in the Panorama section of the Berlin film festival. All three films were shown at the 37th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic. In the Horizons section, where they present the films that received awards at other more important festivals, they showed Cvitkovic’s Bread And Milk. In the Forum of the Independents section Sterk’s Ljubljana was presented, while Guardian of the Frontier by Maja Weiss was shown in the East of the West section. Karlovy Vary is the most important film festival of Central and Eastern Europe and this year the participation of Slovenian films, as far as the number is concerned, was the highest. Slovenian films are also going to move through more familiar territory during the summer – the former Yugoslavia states. First, the 9th film festival in Palic, Serbia, already took place between 19 July and 26 July. Three Slovenian films were shown. Igor Sterk’s Ljubljana participated in the competition program, while Vojko Anzeljc’s The Last Supper and Srdjan Vuletic’s Hop, Skip & Jump participated in the section Crossroads. The festival, formed in 1992, focuses on the cinematography of the former Yugoslavia states and Central Europe. Palic is followed by Motovun, the festival trying to dedicate itself to small films, that means films made in small cinematography and independent productions, which distinguish themselves with their innovativeness, ideas, or the power of their story. The Croatian audience is going to be able to see four of our films between 30 July and 3 August. Cvitkovic’s first film, Bread And Milk, is going to be shown in the competition program of the Motovun Film Festival. Director’s Cut by Boris Petkovic was placed among the 14 short films in the Online section, which are going to be shown on the festival’s Internet site. Two short films by Karpo Godina from the year 1971 are going to be shown in a special section of the festival – Healthy People for Entertainment and About Love Skills or a Film With 14441 Squares. After Motovun it is time to go to Sarajevo. Three Slovenian films are going to be shown at the 8th film festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, between 16th August and 24th August: Guardian of the Frontier by Maja Weiss, Bread And Milk by Jan Cvitkovic and Atorsion by Stefan Arsenijevic. All three films are to be shown in the Regional Program section. The short film Atorsion is going to be shown in memory of the producer Jure Kosak. At the festival in Sarajevo, which shows commercial Hollywood hits as well as small independent cinematography films, the award for best first film that amounts to 12.000 EUR is going to be given by an expert jury consisting of three members. One of the members is the Slovenian director Damjan Kozole. In the USA Maja Weiss’s Guardian of the Frontier is going to be shown most frequently. Between 11 and 22 July it was shown at two festivals simultaneously, first at the gay and lesbian film festival in Philadelphia, then in Los Angeles. It is going on to the second biggest gay and lesbian film festival in Chicago, where it is going to be presented between 25 July and 8 August. The film is also going to be shown in the neighbouring country, Canada, at the World Film Festival in Montreal. Guardian of the Frontier is to be shown in the Cinema of Tomorrow: New Trends section. The Canadian festival audience will be able to see it between 22 August and 2 September. In July Bread And Milk was shown in the Near East at the 19th International Film Festival in Jerusalem, Israel. The festival that took place between 18th and 27th July was the 38th international festival for Cvitkovic’s first film. That’s really an enviable number, so congratulations! Two short films also participated at the festivals in July. Glazier Blues by Harry Rag was shown in the competition section of one of the most important short film festivals, that is the International Short Film Festival Vila do Conde in Portugal. The festival, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, took place between 2 and 7 July. The animated debut by Dusan Kastelic, Perkmandeljc, competed at the festival Anima Mundi, the 10th international festival of animated film, which took place in Rio de Janiero as well as in Sao Paolo. The schedule of Slovenian films is going to shift in high gear in autumn, so get ready for new, although not always completely fresh news from the small wide world of film festivals.