10-10-2023

FNE at Festival of Slovenian Film Portorož 2023: Body

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    Body by Petra Seliškar Body by Petra Seliškar credit: Petra Pan Film

    PORTOROŽ: Petra Seliškar’s long documentary Body / Telo received the Vesna Award for Best Documentary at the 26th Festival of Slovenian Film Portorož (3 - 8 October 2023). This intimate portrait of a woman who is fighting a series of rare auto-immune diseases with her indomitable spirit, is a coproduction between Slovenia, North Macedonia and Croatia.

    After diving into Lake Prespa (in the middle of the Macedonian mountains) while spending a day with her four-year-old daughter Zoja and her close friend Petra, Urška woke up in a Slovenian hospital, struggling to figure out who what had happened. Fifteen years later Urška and Petra go back to the lake, trying to rewind the film of events and replaying the tumultuous journey of Urška’s relations with herself.

    Body was filmed over a period of 20 years and blends intimate conversations, personal archives and creative visuals in order to explore the mysteries of the human body and the power of art and friendship to understand its essence.

    Body by Petra Seliškar, credit Petra Pan Film“I want the film to reach all the people who need it, especially those who have lost hope along the way. Urška is a hero who has overcome difficult situations. This is not a film about illness, it is a film about human strength,” says director Petra Seliškar in a statement.

    Body was produced by Petra Seliškar through Petra Pan Film (Slovenia) in coproduction with Sara Ferro through PPFP (North Macedonia) and Tamara Babun through Wolfgang & Dolly (Croatia). Victor Ede from Cinephage Productions (France) is an associate producer. The project was supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Eurimages and Creative Europe MEDIA.

    LightDox (Switzerland) is handling the world sales.

    Petra Seliškar, born in 1978 in Ljubljana, is a Slovenian writer and director, who founded her own production house in 2003, focusing on documentaries. With her rich experience and talent, she has flourished as a filmmaker with profound insight, sensibility, strong narrative force and an innovative approach. Seliškar’s filmography includes documentaries This Is Where I Live (2011), Mother Europe (2013) and My World Is Upside Down (2015). In 2021 she started shooting the documentary Land of Sar.

    Production Information:

    Petra Seliškar, photo: Makedox archiveProducer:
    Petra Pan Film (Slovenia)
    Petra Seliškar: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Coproducers:
    PPFP (North Macedonia)
    Wolfgang & Dolly (Croatia)

    Associate Coproducer:
    Cinephage (France)

    Credits:
    Director: Petra Seliškar
    Screenwriters: Petra Seliškar, Brand Ferro
    DoP: Brand Ferro
    Composer: Vladimir Rakić
    Editors: Saško Potter Micevski, Sandra Bastašić
    Sound designer: Vladimir Rakić, Vera Galešev
    Cast: Urška Ristić, Zoja Ristić, Bojan Ristić, Mija Ristić, Petra Seliškar, Mitko Filev

    Published in Slovenia

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