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Slovenia in Focus at the Palić European Film Festival

12.07.2021.

As part of the 28th European Film Festival Palić, held this year from 17 to 23 July in Palić and Subotica, Slovenia in Focus program presents 12 works from this country: My Last Year as a Loser, Come Along, Don't Forget to Breathe, Corporation, The Bull, After the Hunt, Port of Mars, Music Is the Art of Time 3: Lp Film Laibach, The Farewell, History of Cycling, Inseparable, and Sieve-Makers From Red Cross: A Century of Existence In Belgrade. All films from this selection will be screened in the Eurocinema in Subotica. This year, a special honorary Aleksandar Lifka Award is introduced for the contribution to regional cinema, and will be assigned to Slovenian actress Milena Zupančič.

Slovenia in Focus program presents four feature films during the festival: My Last Year as a Loser, directed by Urša Menart, follows an art historian in her late twenties who fights for independence and dignity in the urban milieu of unemployment and oversea migrations. In Igor Šterko's film Come Along a trip of three teenagers turns into a drama in the depths of a forest, revealing the hitherto unseen beauties of Slovenian nature. Don't Forget to Breathe directed by Martin Turk is a lyrical and engaging drama of growing up, about a 15-year-old young man Klemen in a small rural town. Matej Nahtigal's Corporation focuses on the controversial police inspector Leon Gall, who is solving a case related to the largest investments.

The repertoire also includes three short feature films: The Bull by director Bojan Labović is a tense drama about Milan an art teacher without a job and a bull in search of life, who escaped from the slaughterhouse; After the Hunt by Urška Đukić is about an independent woman without love who decides to become a hunter, and Port of Mars by Mauro Lainšček is an intimate portrait of a port and its relationship with the city.

Slovenia in Focus program also presents two feature-length documentaries with music as a theme. Music Is the Art of Time 3: Lp Film Laibach by Igor Zupe, is a spectacular portrait of the world-famous, cult industrial music group and a unique art concept. Film The Farewell by Petra Seliškar is a philosophical meditation on the life of the Slovenian poet, guitarist and lute player Tomaž Pengov, whose album Otpotovanja from 1973 was the first album by a singer-songwriter in the former Yugoslavia.

Short documentary form from Slovenia will be presented through three titles: History of Cycling, (directed by Carpo A. Godina) thematizes the idea that bicycles were not part of Nazi propaganda but part of the history of freedom, Inseparable (directed by Marko Nabersnik) follows a group of friends who find a way to connect during the Covid-19 pandemic and to congratulate birthday to one of them, Sieve-Makers From Red Cross: A Century of Existence In Belgrade by Dragomir Zupanc talks about the Slovenian minority in Belgrade, through the story of a hundred-year-old sieve workshop by master Debeljak, father and son.

Milena Zupančić, this year's winner of the honorary Aleksandar Lifka Award for her contribution to regional cinema, is one of the most important Yugoslav actresses. For her role in film Idealist (1976) she was awarded the Golden Arena in Pula and the recognition Empress Theodora at Niš Film Festival, but her popularity was established by her roles in films Journalist (1979) and Promising Boy ( 1981). She won as many as six Sterija awards in Novi Sad, Serbia, and is the most awarded Yugoslav actress at this theater festival. She was the lead actress of the Ljubljana Drama Ensemble, played on almost all Slovenian and all theater stages in Yugoslavia and worked actively for UNICEF for 11 years. In her part, the film Every Good Story Is a Love Story will be presented as a special screening on July 14 at the Subotica’s City Square.

During the Festival, a round table on "Achievements of contemporary Slovenian cinema" will be held, led by Ivana Kronja and Dragomir Zupanc, with the participation of festival representatives, film centers’ representatives, authors and Slovenian films’ producers.

In the pre-festival program and the central part of the event, the audience will be presented with more than 130 films from all over the Europe, in 15 different sections and program units. Many of the films will have their Serbian and regional premiere here in Palić. In addition to the rich film program, the audience will enjoy a number of dynamic accompanying contents - concerts, exhibitions, promotions, workshops and master classes.