The Festival of Slovenian Film
Slovenia is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is a tiny little spot, placed in Europe between Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia that is alive, green, and active! It is one of the countries where everything is just around the corner. And if we are talking about film scenes, you can choose imagination or originality, if you are a fan of a small European cinematographies. Mainly the cinematographers want both! For someone coming from large cinematography, such as the U.S, Slovenia is a small stop. The small yes, but if we look from the romantic getaway point of view, we could allow an idea to become reality with the help of unspoiled filming locations. Greenery all over the place and somewhat the real world that looks like Austria, but not Austria and with a different language. Let’s say go from the mountains to the sea, from the underground to the plains. Slovenia is the only country in the European Union that combines the Alps and the Mediterranean, the Pannonian Plains, and the Karst region. My favorite attraction would be the incredible subterranean caves. If you seek filming locations in nature, choose Slovenia – the proud recipient of the National Geographic Legacy Award for its sustainable tourism destination management, speaking now outside of the present COVID 19 virus outbreak of course, when traveling is risky.
Each autumn, the Festival of Slovenian Film (www.fsf.si) showcases the latest Slovenian productions of various categories and genres. A country this small has rather interesting film production. Although this year’s output is visible, due to a virus outbreak, a result of the production goes down, particularly in terms of feature-length fiction films, but the line-up nevertheless provides a credible insight into the Slovenian creativity in cinema.
The next Festival of Slovenian Film starts 6th of October for the year 2020, and lasts till 11th, as the special edition.
The shift has caught everyone off-guard, and months after the microscopic virus has brought society to its knees, there is a struggle to adapt to the new reality. The 23rd edition of the Festival of Slovenian Film will look a little different than its previous editions. This time in Ljublana, the capital of Slovenia, while the Covid-19 pandemic is to deprive the typical feeling due to an important social event, Slovenian cinematographers hope for a warm, big-hearted Mediterranean air to get in, in a hybrid form via films in the Official Competition selection that will be screened in the Komuna Cinema, Ljubljana, while the Panorama Programme will be available on an online platform set up in collaboration with the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija. The line-up of films selected for the 23rd FSF comprises five programs: Official Competition, Panorama Program, Children’s Animations, Student Films, and a new addition, called Corona Program, a set of 12 short films made during the lockdown. The Official Competition selection includes 7 feature-length films (3 fiction films and 4 documentaries), 9 co-productions (6 feature-length and 3 short films), 7 medium-length documentaries, 18 shorts, and 9 student films. In total, 50 films are in the running for Vesna awards. In addition to the films in competition, the festival also showcases a wide range of filmmaking talent in its Panorama Program, with 4 feature-length films (documentaries), 8 medium-length films (also documentaries), 20 shorts, and 14 student films. The films selected for Official Competition are in the running for Vesna Awards for feature-length fiction and documentary films, medium-length, short and student films, and minority co-productions. The festival will also present the Metod Badjura Lifetime Achievement Award, this year to animation filmmaker Konrad (Koni) Steinbacher. “A pioneer of amateur and professional filmmaking and film education, Steinbacher laid the foundation for the development of Slovenian auteur animation,” said the judges in their commentary.