LJUBLJANA: Prešeren Award 2019, the top Slovenian accolade for arts, will go to filmmaker Filip Robar Dorin and costume designer Bjanka Adžić Ursulov. Only two filmmakers have been awarded the Prešeren Award since Slovenian Independency in 1991 - directors Matjaž Klopčič in 1995 and Karpo Godina in 2006 for their lifetime achievements.

LJUBLJANA: The Slovenian parliamentary Culture Committee has voted unanimously to call on the Culture Ministry to gradually increase the annual budget for film production from 4.5 m to 11 m EUR by 2022.

LJUBLJANA: Urša Menart's debut feature My Last Year as a Loser / Ne bom več luzerka, which was awarded Best Film at the 21st Festival of Slovenian Film in Potoroz, will screen in the competition of the 29th Ljubljana IFF, running 7 – 18 November 2018.

LJUBLJANA: Damjan Kozole began production on the Slovenian/Macedonian/Serbian/Croatian coproduction Half-Sister / Polsestra on 27 October 2018. The 32 days of filming are taking place in Ljubljana and the Slovenian fishing village of Izola, and will be completed on 14 December.

LJUBLJANA: Italian director Davide Del Degan has started shooting on a Slovenian minority coproduction Paradise with Katarina Čas, in the Slovenian town Grosuplje. The 30-day shoot, which will also take place in Piran and in Sauris (Italy), will wrap on 30 November 2018.

LJUBLJANA: Darko Štante’s debut feature Consequences / Posledice, which won four Vesna Awards and the Slovenian Film Critics’ Jury Award at the 21st Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorož, has been sold to France, Germany, the UK, Ireland and North America. The sale is considered an impressive achievement for the first feature film produced by Temporama, a company established in 2012 with the goal of encouraging young filmmakers.

LJUBLJANA: Katja Lenarčič from EnaBanda is representing Slovenia at Jihlava IDFF's Emerging Producers programme. FNE spoke with Lenarčič about the current situation for documentary filmmaking in Slovenia.

LJUBLJANA: The city cinema Kinodvor, located in the center of Ljubljana, opened its door to the audience on 1 October 2008. In the ten years of its operation it became the leading Slovenian art house, recognised for its achievements internationally. On this occasion of its 10th anniversary FNE spoke to Nina Peče Grilc, director, and Koen Van Daele, programme director.

LJUBLJANA: Dejan Prešiček was appointed new Minister of Culture for Slovenia on 15 September 2018. The new Minister started his term in office by announcing that he is planning to prepare a new national cultural programme and to pass legislation which would ensure additional funding for the culture. He will strive for further development of the Slovene film production and also acknowledges the importance of encouraging foreign film production in Slovenia.

PORTOROŽ: Urša Menart’s debut feature My Last Year as a Loser won the Vesna Award for best film at the 21st Festival of Slovenian Film, which ran in Portorož from 10 to 15 September 2018. It is the first time that the most important Vesna award is presented to a film made by a female director.