Omerzu gets Best Director, Prosenc Special Jury Mention in Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary, 8 July - Slovenian Olmo Omerzu received the Best Director Award at the closing ceremony of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Saturday evening. Moreover, The History of Love, a film by Sonja Prosenc received a special jury mention.
Ljubljana
Director Olm Omerzu.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Omerzu's Zimske Muhe (Winter Flies) is a Slovenian, Czech, Polish and Slovakian co-production, focusing on two young friends and their untameable wish to explore.
It tells the story of the independent Mara and quirky Heduš, who set out to find adventures in the snow.
Talking to the STA over the phone on Sunday, Omerzu said that the award was a confirmation for him that the film worked and that the hard work had paid off.
He is happy about the award also because the film will hit the cinema screens in the Czech Republic in September. It is also planned for general release in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The History of Love is the first co-production of Slovenia, Norway and Italy with authors and actors from all three countries. The film was shot in Slovenia and Italy.
It is a story about Iva, a woman who discovers her mother's secret love affair with opera conductor Erik while grieving for her. This ruins her image of her family, which helps her to replace pain with anger.
She submerges in a completely different world from what she is used to, but when she gets over the initial disappointment and the sense of betrayal she realises she can share her loss with Erik.
Prosenc told the STA that she was very honoured to receive the Jury Mention of one of the biggest and oldest film festivals in Europe.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, one of the biggest and oldest European festivals, this year paid tribute to the recently deceased Czech director Miloš Forman.