bdellatif Kechiche has an unique ability to connect new and old, European and African, sexuality and classicism: the Tunisian-French actor, film director and screenwriter broke almost all the rules of the film industry - in a realistic and poetic way. Hungary's Jameson CineFest (September 12-22) honours him with a retrospective with the screening of four great movies. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with La Faute à Voltaire (Blame it on Voltaire). Then he directed Games of Love and Chance (L'Esquive), which won a César Award for Best Film and Best Director. He presented The Secret of the Grain (La Graine et le mulet) at the Mostra in Venice for which he was awarded the Special Jury Prize, such as later the Louis Delluc Prize and others César Awards for Best Film and Best Director, while the 2010 Black Venus (Vénus noire) was also premiered in Venice.

Blame it on Voltaire is an interesting experience about the social phenomenon of immigration. Everybody that feel intolerance for those who come in our countries in search of a little dignity should take a look at this story of people who live to the edge. The Games of of Love and Chance shows a group of teenagers of the Paris suburbs practice a performance of a Marivaux play .Abdelkrim, or Krimo (Osman Elkharraz) falls in love with Lydia (Sara Forestier).In order to try to seduce her, he accepts the role of Arlequin and joins the rehearsal. But his timidness and awkwardness keeps him from participating in the play as well as succeeding with Lydia. The Secret of the Grain stars Habib Boufares as an ageing immigrant from the Maghreb whose ambition to establish a successful restaurant as an inheritance for his large and disparate family meets sceptical opposition from the French bureaucracy. Black Venus is a story of Saartjie Baartman, who left her native South Africa with her master, Caezar, to expose her caged body to the audiences of London’s freak shows. Free and enslaved all at the same time, the "Hottentot Venus" became an icon. Supported by the Budapest French Institute.

Prague, 11 September 2013 –The 16th annual Slovenian Film Festival begins today in Portorož (11 – 15 September 2013). Each year it presents the Slovenian film production of the previous year. A Czech-Slovenian co-production gathering will be held as part of the festival’s special programme, with producers from both countries participating.

The Slovenian film festival, a place for filmmakers, the professional public, foreign guests and film fans to gather, officially begins today, though yesterday, on the eve of the festival, enthusiasts could feast on a cinematic delicacy: the film The Beginning Was Sin (Am Anfang war es Sünde) from the classic Czech director and founder of modern Slovenian cinematography, František Čáp, who lived and worked in exile following the Second World War.  

On Friday 13 September a Slovenian-Czech co-production gathering will be held for film professionals as part of a special programme for film professionals. The programme will begin with an introduction of the basic facts about both countries and will continue with a case study of the film A Night Too Young (Příliš mladá noc) from producer Jiří Konečný, which originated as a Czech-Slovenian co-production in 2012. The story of two twelve-year-old boys, who accidentally find themselves at a party in the flat of their young teacher, where they experience their first encounter with love and sexuality, was directed by Olmo Omerzu, a Slovenian living in Prague. The creative team of Konečný-Omerzu is now preparing another joint effort, Family Film (Rodinný film), once again as a Czech-Slovenian co-production.

The gathering will continue with a round-table discussion, with selected Czech and Slovenian producers attending. Czech cinematography will be represented by three young producers: Jiří Konečný from ENDORFILM, who has several successful international co-productions under his belt, Hanka Třeštíková from PRODUKCI TŘEŠTÍKOVÁ as a representative of Czech documentary work and Peter Badač from NUTPRODUKCE, whose work includes the production of the successful short animated film Pandas, awarded this year in Cannes.

On behalf of Slovenia it will be Miha Knific from NUKLEUS FILM SLOVENIA, focusing on production of commercials and feature films, Jaka Oman from INVIDA, which helps independent Slovenian and foreign filmmakers, Viva Videnović from ZAVOD STRUP PRODUKCIJA for animated work and also the talented director and producer Rok Biček from CVINGER FILM, whose film Class Enemy was recently screened as part of the Film Critics’ Week in Venice. “This event follows the presentation of new Czech and Slovenian cinematography, which took place at the end of March in Ljubljana,” added Markéta Šantrochová from the Czech Film Center. “During that occasion we looked for an opportunity to connect our countries on the level of film professionals, especially in light of the successful projects from endorfilm and Olmo Omerzu. Moreover, our countries are relatively close to each other, which really facilitates communication. For a number of years now we have been cooperating with our Slovenian colleagues at a joint stand in Berlin and so our producers also often encounter each other. We hope that the gathering in Portorož will bring more opportunities for cooperation.”

Partners from Slovenia:
The Slovenian Film Center, MEDIA Desk Slovenia and Slovenian Film Festival in Portorož

Partners from the Czech Republic:
The Czech Film Center, MEDIA Desk ČR and NFA

For more information on the festival see www.fsf.si

Contact:
Denisa Štrbová
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
tel: +420 221 105 398
www.filmcenter.cz