Slovenia

A visceral documentary focusing on the Slovenian collective art movement known as NSK (‘Neue Slowenische Kunst’) and its varied branches: ‘Laibach’, ‘Irwin’, and ‘Red Pilot’.Read More »

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Selestenje Selestenje (2002) Luka leaves for the countryside unhappy with the way his girlfriend Katarina has treated him. She follows him hoping that they could sort out their relationship. Despite the beauty and tranquillity of their surroundings they go through twists and turns that only intensify their crisis. When Katarina befriends the happy-go-lucky soldier Primoz, new dimensions and choices open up for her. Ultimately all three must decide where their own life will take them.

A quiet triumph of focused improvisation. Under Lapajne’s sure hand, universally understood issues of communication, fidelity, jealousy, longing and frustration are presented clearly and without manipulative sentiment, allowing the fundamental decency of the characters to shine through.Read More »

Boštjan Hladnik (30 January 1929 – 30 May 2006) was a Yugoslav/Slovene filmmaker.

Hladnik was born in Kranj. He started with amateur short films after acquiring a projector and a 8mm camera in 1947[1]. From 1949 he studied at the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana and made a name for himself with several highly acclaimed short films. In 1957, Hladnik moved to Paris to apprentice under French filmmakers such as Claude Chabrol, Philipe de Broca, and Robert Siodmak. Hladnik’s early-’60s features, Ples v dežju (Dance in the Rain)[2] (1961) and Peščeni grad/Sand Castle[3] (1962), influenced the course of Yugoslav cinema, through integrating influences from the nouvelle vague into it. Read More »

When a man known as Oroslan dies, the news quickly spreads through a little village, causing grief and emotion. Later on, actions become words and words become stories. In order to overcome the sorrow and restore the natural flow of life, the villagers start sharing their memories about Oroslan, re-creating his image through their tales.Read More »

Synopsis:
Lutvija Belmondo Mirga narrates a story about four generations. Belmondo is the central character of the film, a gypsy king, who decided to establish his own gypsy village. He names it Shanghai. Belmondo makes a living smuggling and his power and influence grow big. He even gets the local police and politics on his side and that helps him to become untouchable for law. But with the downfall of Yugoslavia, smuggling of goods is replaced by smuggling of the arms. Though lucrative the business starts to threaten Belmondo’s personal life and he finds himself at the crossroads. Will he protect his own family or is he going to sacrifice his personal happiness for business ambitions? Shanghai Gypsy is a story about longing for happiness; it is a story about love and family ties, in which tears are intertwined with laughs. The story is set in times of the downfall of Yugoslavia. The film is shot in the authentic Romani language.Read More »

Dizzy is a perennial student living in a small double room in a hostel. He never seems to study, but spends his time sleeping, watching TV, and drinking. Marko, a studious freshman from the country, is assigned to the other bed in the room, and he is soon joined by his young, very pregnant, girlfriend Ana. Meanwhile, Dizzy’s girlfriend Marina is trying to get Dizzy to make a commitment, but he would prefer to continue his idle ways.Read More »

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Actions have consequences. When 18-year-old Andrej is admitted to a youth detention centre, he has to fight for his place within the group of inmates. As he works to prove himself to the group’s leader Zeljko, the pair get closer, and dangerous desires emerge. Blinded by his love for Zeljko, Andrej finds himself falling into an unsettling world full of dangerous men and heartless crimes. As Andrej comes to terms with the man he loves and the thing he’s become, it slowly dawns on him; there will be consequences…Read More »

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Mare’s youth is almost over and he, just like his peers, has no idea what to do with his life. The med school is an unclear guideline at best, the women are coming and going, and there is no sense of stability in this young man in his mid-twenties, whose immaturity is manifested in his interest in the rave scene and the daily dosage of cheap ecstasy. He is searching for passing moments of happiness in this extension of his youth. His colleagues and friends are more or less forced to grow up (getting jobs, having kids) and there is a growing divide between them. They are becoming unpleasant acquaintances, whose chance meetings are getting more and more uneasy.Read More »

Fortress Europe is the latest semi-documentary film by Zilnik and was shot on the borders between Slovenia and Italy, Croatia and Slovenia and Hungary and Austria—i.e. the southern area covered by the Schengen Treaty governing the transit of migrants in Europe. As Zilnik notes in the accompanying interview, this new “wall” against the movement of people is more impenetrable than the Berlin wall.Read More »