The aging Bruno and Duša both suffer from dementia. As clients of a home for the elderly, they meet occasionally, spend some time together, but forget it all by their next encounter. Surrounded by other clients of the home, they continue approaching only each other while meeting over and over again.
“My question is can we overcome a serious diagnosis with sheer emotions? How is it possible that she, after having a nice encounter that both have forgotten, choses to talk precisely to him again? Or how come he wants to get to know only her again, even though there are other women around? The unusual atmosphere at the home for the elderly seems to fluctuate between poetic age-related awareness and childhood naivety, which comes back to a person who can no longer take care of themselves”, says Miroslav Mandić, who also penned the script.
The main roles are played by renowned Slovenian actors of the older generation: Sandi Pavlin, Silva Čušin and Boris Cavazza.
Sanremo was produced by Miroslav Mandić through Slovenia’s Filmostovje in coproduction with RTV Slovenija and Marta Zacarron through Incipit Film (Italy). The project was supported by the Slovenian Film Centre with 99,800 EUR and by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC), Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission – FVG and Fondo Regionale per l’Audiovisivo del Friuli Venezia Giulia, with Studio Viba Film providing additional technical support.
The shooting took place in Italy (San Vito del Torre, Lago Inferiore) and Slovenia (Kras and Gorenjska regions) in the autumn of 2019 and in February 2020.
The world premiere of Sanremo took place at the 24th Tallinn Film Festival in November 2020. After that the film was screened in Seattle, Shanghai, Motovun, Sarajevo and a dozen of other international festivals.
Fivia released it theatrically on 5 October 2021 in Slovenia, where it will continue to play through October and November 2021.
Italian Coccinelle Film Sales is handling the international sales.
Miroslav Mandić was born in 1959 in Sarajevo, where he studied Comparative Literature. He graduated in MFA Screenwriting/Directing from the Columbia University in NYC. After a short film career in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the war prompted him to migrate to the Czech Republic. He is currently based in Slovenia.
Production Information:
Producer:
Filmostovje (Slovenia)
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Coproducers:
RTV Slovenija (Slovenia)
Incipit Film (Italy)
Credits:
Director: Miroslav Mandić
Screenwriter: Miroslav Mandić
DoP: Peter Zeitlinger
Editor: Andrej Nagode
Production designers: Dušan Milavec, Barbara Kapelj
Costume designer: Polonca Valentinčič
Make-up artist: Anita Ferčak
Cast: Sandi Pavlin, Silva Čušin, Boris Cavazza, Mojca Funkl, Lara Komar