“Official numbers are not yet confirmed but by our estimate the share of the domestic films will be around 8%, which is slightly above the European average”, says Nataša Bučar, the director of the Slovenian Film Center (SFC).

Fifteen Slovenian films, ten of them supported by the SFC, were released in 2017. The top title is Let Him Be a Basketball Player, directed by Boris Petkovič and produced by Gustav Film, with 77,800 admissions and 295,000 EUR gross, followed by the 2016 hit At Hostar, directed by Luka Marčetič and produced by Kerlc Film in coproduction with Iridum Film, with 32,000 admissions and 121,000 EUR gross, and the independent comedy Militia 2, directed by Sašo Đukić and produced by Franci Kek, with 11,300 admissions and 57,500 EUR gross.

In 2016 six domestic films were released with 230,851admissions, representing 10 percent of total attendance, while in 2015 domestic films generated 48,369 admissions, representing a little more than 2% of total attendance.

SFC provided 4,434 m EUR for film production in 2017 and approximately the same amount is secured for 2018. “We are still trying to increase this number to ensure better conditions for domestic film production, noting that it was cut down by 1.2 m EUR compared to 2011,” said Bučar. In her opinion it is alarming that 30 percent of the budgets for the Slovenian films finished in 2017 were provided by foreign funds (Eurimages, MEDIA) and foreign coproducers.

Among the most important achievements in 2017 Bučar has pointed out the project Our Films At Home, which helps promoting domestic films among the Slovenian audience, and the introduction of a cash rebate scheme for foreign productions filming in Slovenia. Three foreign projects benefited from the scheme, getting a total support of 650,000 EUR.