Festival of Slovenian Film gets under way
Portorož, 3 October - Taking place in Portorož from Tuesday to Sunday, the 26th Festival of Slovenian Film (FSF) will feature 55 films in the competition section, including 14 feature films. The coastal town will also host four world premieres.
Portorož
The coastal town of Portorož.
Photo: Municipality of Piran
File photo
The programme and the scope of the festival show that Slovenian cinema production is continuous and that the number of films has been maintained or even slightly increased, Nataša Bučar, head of the Slovenian Film Centre, said at a recent press conference.
One of the things standing out in this year's programme is progress that has been made in documentary filmmaking. Out of 14 feature films, half of them are documentaries, and out of 16 shorts in the competition section, the figure stands at five, she said.
In order to help further develop documentary filmmaking in Slovenia, the festival's organisers have invited selectors of documentary festivals from the wider region.
The opening film will be Šterkijada, an intimate portrait of the family of Jure Šterk, directed by his son, Igor Šterk. Jure Šterk was a Slovenian long-distance sailor, circumnavigator and author who disappeared during a sailing trip around the world in 2009.
In addition to Šterkijada, three more films will see their world premieres at the festival: Shooting Blanks, a comic drama by Žiga Virc, Role Model, a film about school bullying by Nejc Gazvoda, and Observing, a thriller by Janez Burger.
All four of them are competing for the festival's award for best film. Meanwhile, the lifetime achievement award - the Milka and Metod Badjura Prize - will be presented to director of photography Rado Likon at the opening ceremony.
The accompanying programme will mark several anniversaries in the world of film, while the segment for experts will be dedicated to cinematography.