LJUBLJANA: FNE spoke with Nataša Bučar, Head of the Slovenian Film Center, about achieved goals, challenges in developing domestic film industry, the future of Slovenian cinema and her personal taste in films.

PORTOROŽ: Sixteen feature films including eight documentaries will be screened in the competition of the 21st Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorož, which will run from 10 to 15 September 2018. The Badjura Lifetime Achievement Award will go to the film director Tugo Štiglic.

LJUBLJANA: Slovenian director Andrej Košak will start shooting his fourth feature film All Against All / Vsi proti vsem in September 2018. This Slovenian/Macedonian coproduction is a political thriller set in an imaginary small town under the Alps.

LJUBLJANA: Italian-born Slovenian director Martin Turk began shooting his third feature film Don't Forget to Breathe / Ne pozabi dihati on 19 June 2018. The coming-of-age drama is produced by an all-female Slovenian/Croatian/Italian coproduction team.

LJUBLJANA: The Slovenian Film Centre decided to support five minority coproductions with the amount of 480,000 EUR including technical service and equipment from FS Viba.

LJUBLJANA: Ninety percent of the films made in Slovenia from 1995 to 2017 were directed by men, according to research commissioned by the Slovenian Film Centre.

LJUBLJANA: The Slovenian Film Centre is organising the international panel discussion Women in the Film Sector: A Gender Issue at Klub Lili Novy at Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana on 20 March 2018. The participants are film directors, critics and the representatives of Eurimages.

LJUBLJANA: The Slovenian government green lighted an MP-sponsored bill aimed at securing additional funding for arts and culture in 2020-2026. The funds will be earmarked for various urgent areas including film and cultural heritage and purchasing contemporary artworks. The bill is now waiting to be approved by the Parliament.

BERLIN: The Slovenian drama Ivan, directed by Janez Burger and produced by Miha Černec through Staragara, has been sold to the Chinese distribution company Huaulu, with plans for it to be released during 2018. The deal was scored at the EFM by Manuela Buono from Slingshot Films, the Italian based company handling the international sales of the film.

LJUBLJANA: There were no major changes in 2017 in terms of general admissions in Slovenian cinemas, as well as film production and grants awarded by the Slovenian Film Centre. More Slovenian titles were released, but the audience’s interest in domestic films decreased by approximately five percent, which is still above the last five years’ average.