The Focus on Slovenia event will feature six Slovenian feature films of various genres and four short films. The festival organisers are delighted to be able to screen the film Inventory by Darko Sinko just a few weeks after its world premiere at the San Sebastian IFF. The film has been included in the festival’s Official Competition and therefore competes for the Grand Prix, the Special Jury Prize, and the Critics’ Prize of CinEast 2021. The programme also boasts the daring new comedy Bitch, A Derogatory Term for a Woman by Tijana Zinajić, which paints an entertaining portrait of the lives of young people in today’s Ljubljana. The film is about to have its world premiere at “Mostra de Valencia”, where it will compete for the Audience Award. The all-time comedy classic Grandma Goes South by Vinci Vogue Anžlovar, released in 1991, will mark the 30th anniversary of Slovenian statehood.
Grandma Goes South / babica_gre_na_jug
The Luxembourg audience will also have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Slovenian nature at the screenings of the documentary Wild Slovenia by Matej Vranić, featuring amazing images of the county’s rich and varied wildlife and landscapes. The programme also features the poetic film about ageing Sanremo by Miroslav Mandić and the creative documentary Antigone – How Dare We! by Jani Sever. The festival programme also features three live-action shorts – Sisters by Katarina Rešek-Kukla (which won the Grand Prix at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand IFF), Bits by Áron Horváth Botka, and The Penalty Shot by Rok Biček (presented at the Locarno IFF in August) – as well as the animated short film Steakhouseby Špela Čadež. The latter film was also presented at Locarno in the Leopards of Tomorrow programme, where it received a special mention from the young jury.
In addition to Inventory, the competition programme also includes Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut Murina, a co-production film that won the Caméra d’Or for the best debut feature at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Two special guests will arrive from Slovenia to meet the festival-goers. The director of Inventory, Darko Sinko, will meet the audience and answer their questions on 20 October, while Tijana Zinajić will be present at the special screening of her film Bitch, A Derogatory Term for a Woman on 24 October, the last day of the festival, and participate in a Q&A session afterwards. Representatives of the Slovenian Film Centre and the Embassy of Slovenia in Brussels will attend the official opening, the screening of Grandma Goes South, and a music event: in addition to the film programme, the Focus on Slovenia will also include a concert by the Slovenian band Vasko & The Uncles from the Dark, a new group formed by the acclaimed musician and composer Vasko Atanasovski. The band will perform at the festival’s opening event on 8 October in one of Luxembourg’s major music venues, the Melusina club.
Focus on Slovenia is organised by the Slovenian Film Centre and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Brussels.
