07-05-2020

PRODUCTION: Documentary Sparks in Time in Postproduction

By
    Sparks in Time by Jurij Gruden Sparks in Time by Jurij Gruden credit: Senca Studio

    LJUBLJANA: Jurij Gruden's Sparks in Time – Worldwide Computer Adventure / Iskre v času – Svetovni računalniški podvig has entered postproduction but is facing delays and other problems because of COVID-19. This long documentary is based on the book The Cold War for Information Technology: The Inside Story by Janez Škrubej.

    The story follows the vertiginous rise and fall of a Slovene information technology giant Iskra Delta which found itself behind the scenes of political intrigue and a secret service battle at the pinnacle of the Cold War.

    "The shooting was completed last year as planned, but right now we are working on obtaining rights for used archival footage, which is very slow, as most institutions are short-staffed at the moment," producer Ida Weiss told FNE.

    Another problem which may cause a longer delay in postproduction is the signing of the contract with the Slovenian Film Center (SFC). "Due to the directive of the Slovenian Ministry of Culture, the SFC is currently not allowed to sign any contracts. We hope that this situation will be resolved soon and that administrative procedures will continue as agreed."

    The film is produced by Ida Weiss through Senca Studio in coproduction with RTV Slovenija and AVI film. The project is supported by the Slovenian Film Centre and by Creative Europe MEDIA, while Studio Viba Film provides additional technical support. "The budget is estimated at 150,000 EUR," Weiss told FNE. "The domestic cinema release is planned for the autumn of 2020 but we do not know right now if it will be possible. We hope it will be, to some extent at least."

    Jurij Gruden was born in 1975 in Trieste and studied film and tv direction at the AGRFT. During his study he made some short feature films, but later his focus became short and television documentaries and also television dramas.

    Production Information:

    Producer:
    Sparks in Time by Jurij Gruden, credit: Senca StudioSenca Studio (Slovenia)
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Coproducers:
    RTV Slovenija (Slovenia)

    AVI film (Slovenia)

    Credits:
    Director: Jurij Gruden
    Screenwriter: Jurij Gruden
    DoP: Radovan Čok
    Editor: Miloš Kalusek
    Cast: Janez Škrubej, engineers of Iskra Delta, Ken Olson, Tito, Nixon