Wild Slovenia offers insight into the secret life of animal species that live in close proximity to humans, witnessing individual interactions between them. More than 50 animal species are monitored over a period of one year and presented in different roles, as dictated by their life cycle.
The 83-minute documentary also takes the viewer through typical Slovenian landscapes and briefly introduces their main characteristics, showing a very rich ecosystem diversity, rarely seen in recordings, with scientifically verified information weaved into the intelligible text.
The 127-days shooting took place in Slovenia between 1 November 2019 and 1 May 2021, showing the wide area of the country, from the Alpine Mountains and highlands to the Dinaric forests, from the Pannonian plains to the underground caves of Karst and the Slovenian part of the Adriatic Sea.
"The making of a high quality science documentary film is very tiring and demanding. Without extreme dedication, perseverance and patience of the entire film crew almost nothing useful is captured. We have to keep in mind that animals are actors who try their best not to cooperate in any way. It could happen that they might not be seen even after several weeks if something frightens them. And, of course, they cannot read the script either", director, co-writer and DoP Matej Vranič told FNE.
The film is produced by Vranič's own production company Fotokom in coproduction with the Slovenian national television RTV Slovenija. It was supported by the Slovenian Film Centre with the amount of 50,000 EUR. "The complete budget was 186,000 EUR. RTV Slovenija contributed 60,000 EUR, the Slovenian Film Centre 50,000 EUR while Fotokom covered the rest of the budget," Vranič also said.
Born in 1974, Matej Vranič has a long experience of observation and professional photographing of animals and nature in general throughout Slovenia. In 2018 he made the mid-length documentary Birds of the Lakes Return. Wild Slovenia is his first long documentary.
Production Information:
Producer:
Fotokom (Slovenia)
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Coproducer:
RTV Slovenija (Slovenia)
Credits:
Director: Matej Vranič
Screenwriters: Matej Varnič, Marjan Žiberna
DoP: Matej Vranič
Editor: Matej Vranič
Cast (narration): Jure Longyka (Slovenian), Michael Manske (English)
