Discoveries from Slovenia World Cinema

7 May 2045. I decided to go back home.

An adolescent boy embarks on a final journey through the imprints of his memories, seeking the delicate beauty he fears will soon vanish. Fourteen-year-old Luno battles his impending blindness, confronting his fears as he laces up his freedom shoes for one final adventure.

Konrad is living a quiet life up in the snowy mountains. One day he is visited by a group of lawmen, claiming they have a warrant for his arrest connected to the crimes he and his old gang of outlaws did over 20 years ago.

After his father's death, a young man (Gregor Bakovic) uses the black mourning flag and sews himself a pair of trousers. He then takes a train trip and meets a variety of bizarre characters, including a stowaway, a deaf-mute duo, a balloon-seller, a bird enthusiast, and an attractive girl (Barbara Cerar). Their railway romance gets derailed, but a variety of sight gags and caboose comedics keep the film on track and in loco motion.

Like the eponymous card game, the film consists of three parts, three different stories that are interwoven with each other in the individual sequences.

France Simčič is a gentleman who moves into the Veselje home for the elderly. He meets Majda, who lives in her own world.

When his father visits him with a brand-new truck, eleven-year-old Teo makes a decision that will change his life forever.

During the pre-election period, those in power try to stay in power by any means necessary, but two benevolent policemen manage to prevent them from doing so.

A collection of moments from the life of a bohemian artist and his spirited partner, as they follow the rhythms of their cove-tucked home.

In the depths of the Algerian desert the Sahrawi people have been dwelling in the refugee camps for over 40 years. Camps gradually turned into settlements, named after towns in their homeland Western Sahara. One of them is called El Aaiún.

Jan is an 18-year-old mechatronics enthusiast and autistic teenager. He joins a class competing for a scholarship in an international company in the development of software for a modern system powered by artificial intelligence.

Jurij Kraigher was an Austro-Hungarian pilot and flight instructor, who also served in the air force of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. A pioneer of intercontinental flights at Pan American Airways, he broke the world speed record for passenger aircraft.

In 1920s Ljubljana, a student of theology decides to leave his studies and dedicate to music.

A documentary essay about the relationships among Mediterranean men and their games. The film takes the form of a travelogue across Croatia, Italy, Slovenia and Turkey, and examines men, young and old, who come together like their ancestors did – to play games. During filming, however, the director suddenly faces a serious creative crisis and turns the camera on himself, turning the film into a playful homage to absurdity.

In the film Crowned, we follow the extraordinary story of Magdalena Gornik, who lived in the 19th century with mystical phenomena and faced opposition, yet persistently followed her mission of converting hearts and drawing near to God through suffering.

Documentary about the mountain Jelenk.

Two married couples from opposite social classes are brought together in a single night following a tragic event that will change the rest of their lives.

The film takes place in Slovenia today. Johan (44), is a factory worker, who dreams of a dignified life for himself and his family. His best friend Janez introduces him to Zlatko, who doesn’t take bluetouth away from his ear, and he offers him a quick profit, better job and a raise. Accepting the offer Johan robs his wife's mother, who cheers for Manchester United, and his life after that moves downhill.

12-yearold Sanela, growing up in a muslim family, loves swimming and wants to attend a swimming competition at her school but her path changes when she gets her first period. The theme of the film is religious and cultural conflict between the West and Islam through the eyes of youth growing up between the values of the western society and the islamic tradition.

Mak is an unemployed musician, while his girlfriend has just received a job promotion. After suffering a panic attack, he looks for comfort in getting drunk with an ambulance worker.

After a car accident, Jure is trapped in a house with his guilty conscience and neurotic mother. Mother's friend Majda tries her best to help them in her own way.

An extraordinary love story of Irena and Avguštin Maučec from Turnišče, a village in the region of Prekmurje, Slovenia. In the 1990s, soon after their wedding Irena and Avguštin had a bad car accident that left Irena with a serious brain injury. Failing to wake up, she was given up on by the doctors to die a slow death. Avguštin would not agree: he took her home and has since been giving her selfless care. After years of battling the healthcare system, he decided at the age of 40 to study law. He is now about to take his bar exams, and find a job to be able to take proper care of Irena.

Former Camorra killer Cristina Pinto is facing the challenges of everyday life after her discharge from prison. Soon after her release, her partner Rafaele, 20 years older than she, is diagnosed with lung cancer. Pinto seeks refuge with her 28-year-old daughter Ellena, and tries to bridge a 24-year-old void in their relationship. At the age of 46, Pinto tries to re-establish herself as a lover, mother, and grandmother. Is she able to overcome her violent history and live in a loving relationship with her closest ones? Is she able to love

Brina: Oi, Bor. Grandpa told me that there’s fish in this lake that can bite half your leg off. Bor: Oh, the only fish I can see are small. Brina: But these ones guard the big fish. Those that can bite your leg off.

Let's visit Slovenian villages with interesting names.

A hungry and solitary weasel roams the dry landscape, intent on hunting the last remaining birds in a tree. The birds try to keep the tree in balance while the weasel doggedly climbs its trunk. The tree sways, the stomach growls, the weasel persists until it’s too late. A classic anti-hero cartoon – not just for children.

In the heart of Ljubljana, the Workers' Advocacy Office (Delavska svetovalnica) stands as a beacon of hope for society’s most vulnerable: working men and women, the unemployed, the disabled, pensioners, and migrants. Far surpassing the traditional boundaries of union work, this extraordinary organization fosters solidarity, champions justice, and envisions a more equitable future for the working class.

Iva is a lost 24-year-old struggling with depression. She worries that even a diploma will not help her get a good job. When she almost despairs, her best friend offers to help her.

All of a sudden world have become very different for Jasna, or has it always been this way? She doesn't try to find out, she rather lives in now as it is. Doing so she meets a younger boy Pero which she finds a bit shady but cool and together they go on a journey to find out how meaningless is what was and will be.

Urbanity is finally erased by mythical rituals, which is determined by the very title of the video film: menhir, an upright stone block from the Neolithic, which was used for sacral rites. Man and woman are Adam and Eve, created in front of us by electronic transformation (morphing) and marked by blood. This element also marks all other elements of the video image: the murder of an individual by the menhir or trinity (politics, church, army), the bodies of the dancer. Blood, murder and death are overcome by only the second basic element: the stone, which is flooded with blood the very next moment. The fight of natural elements is also served by electronic tricks that turn power holders from flesh and blood into stone and wrong.

Three mutually intertwined stories from the present time are reflecting, complementing or contradicting one another. Throughout the film, the naked parts of a wounded humaneness are shown with a gentle irony. Baker Blaž is driven mad by alcohol and monsters of the hot summer days.

Daily work routines at the cemetery in Gorizia, Italy. The film introduces four workers and a flower seller, exploring their dynamics, daily tasks, and perspectives on life when death is a constant presence.

Tilen is an introverted teenager who gets his first job in a warehouse.

Juš is a parish priest. What is his sin? How big is it?

A documentary film about the eternal dreamer from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hari Džekson. About a man who created an illusory reality from his dreams of being a heroic cowboy, who would save the world, in which the river Drina replaced the Rio bravo and Santa Fe became the Bosnian town of Bijeljina.

Newsreel 62 reflects on the participation of two Syrian artists in a 1966 Yugoslavian art show celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, showcasing the relative ease with which objects (as opposed to people) can pass across borders.

Worker's quarters on Vida Pregarc Street, Ljubljana: a house originally built to accommodate construction workers has storeys, three entrances, and as a result of the privatization process, nineteen owners. The fates of its residents vary...

Animation of still frames with sound.

Adam creates Eve and puts her on his throne. A Child is about to be born.

An experimental self-portrait.

When the water supply cuts out in a small town, turning the dystopian society into a war zone, three hustlers struggle to find the real enemy before it's too late.

What if a person you are secretly watching, is also watching you?

Marko is 40 years old and still lives with his mother. His life is settled between work and home. His colleague Ajda tries to approach him, but without success. Marko always returns to his mother, without whom he cannot manage. And when it already seems like he will never separate from his mom, she takes matters into her own hands. Will Marko finally grow up?

In Ascii history of moving images, Vuk Ćosić, one of the founders of the net.art movement, plays on the tension between digital and analogue formats, between code and culture. By taking up some key works from the history of moving images, he probes the way in which the question of the medium, whether old or new, interweaves with the utopias and dystopias of modernity.

This is a witty story, full of suspense, about a group of promising eleven-year olds who unintentionally become involved in a not too childish adventure. Their straightforwardness, sincerity, cleverness, resourcefulness help them to interfere with the plans of adult offenders and bring them to justice.

Čupa Marija is the only completely preserved sea log of Slovenian fishermen in the Trieste region.

Mario operates a crane in a small shipyard on an idyllic island. On a windy and gloomy day he gets struck by a thought that the sea could be something different in his eyes. He decides to run away from his loneliness and routine.

An atmospheric journey, following the unstoppable forces that shape this world. A story beyond humanity.

A documentary about the rock concert held in Maribor, Slovenia dedicated to two freshly deceased musicians from the local scene. It was a charity memorial event where their friends and collaborators performed in their honor.

Julia lives with her brother and dad in the city and her life revolves around dancing, friends and school. Despite the fact that Mom is no longer alive and that her father is a film director, an artistic and rather unpredictable man, her life is arranged well. When the father announces one day that they will move on to a village, to his new female friend, Julia must accept the fact that she will get a child sister. Jasna, which is the same age as Julia, makes sure that Julia feels well in the village. She is starting to admire her more and more, borrowing her clothes, and trying to be similar to her. Soon Jasna looks like Julia. In pursuit of love, she assumes a new identity...

Documentary on famous Slovenian accordionist and his musical family.

Liliana is a beautiful girl and dedicated hard worker. But she does have a secret that keeps her going... A poetic narrative from another time and place with a touch of nostalgic past.

The film is based on a true story. In June 1945, Joza Čop and Paula Jesih, two well-known pre-war Slovenian mountaineers, attempted to scale the central pillar towering in the north wall of Tricorno. The film begins with the history of the conquest of Tricorno and retrospective footage.

An experimental short about the Slovenian filmmaker Ema Kugler. The film was made during the production of her feature film Man With Shadow.

The story follows a young man, Rok Kocijancic, who struggles to fit into society despite numerous attempts. However, behind his sense of being lost and his desire for acceptance lies a deeper reason.

A person receives a delivery that ends up immoral.

A philosophical meditation on a young Tomaž Pengov, one of the greatest musicians in Slovenian history and the author of many timeless songs, some of which will accompany him on this cinematic journey through his world. Pengov’s legacy features ‘Odpotovanja’, the first singer-songwriter record released in the former Yugoslavia.

A portrait of the greats of Slovenian and Yugoslav documentary film, from his point of view, and that of his family and colleagues Karpo Aćimović-Godina, Jože Pogačnik and others.

Giving an insight into a little-known and prematurely forgotten period in Slovenia's recent history, the film chronicles the establishment and rise of a Slovenian shipping corporation, weaving in the memories of the then seamen, who had the right amount of naval knowledge and a need for adventure to sail every sea and ocean of the world.

A story about parting ways, accompanied by the decomposition of a burning tree. Discussing jigsaw puzzles, we explore two opposing views trying to reconcile despite their differences.