02-11-2020

FNE Oscar Watch 2021: Slovenia Selects Stories From the Chestnut Woods as Oscar Candidate

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    Stories From the Chestnut Woods by Gregor Božič Stories From the Chestnut Woods by Gregor Božič

    LJUBLJANA: Gregor Božič’s debut feature Stories From the Chestnut Woods / Zgodbe iz kostanjevih gozdov is Slovenia's candidate for the 93rd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award in the best international feature film category. The nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards will be announced on 15 March 2021 and the ceremony is scheduled for 25 April 2021.

    Based on Anton P. Chekhov’s short stories, the theatre play Requiem by Hanoch Levin and local tales from the Slavia Veneta, Stories from the Chestnut Woods follows an old carpenter and a chestnut seller as they share memories of the past and decisions for the future in a forest on the Yugoslav-Italian border after WWII.

    The main roles are played by Italian actor Massimo De Francovich and Croatian actress Ivana Roščić.

    The film was produced by Nosorogi in coproduction with the Italian company Transmedia Production, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV Slovenija and the German Deutsche Film und Fernsehakademie Berlin. The project was supported by the Slovenian Film CentreEurimages, Creative Europe - MEDIA, FVG Film Fund, Fondo Regionale Audiovisivo FVG and MiBAC, with Viba Film providing technical support.

    The film won 11 Vesna awards, including the Vesna Award for best film, and also the IRIDIUM award for first feature at the 22nd Festival of Slovenian Film, which was held in Portorož in September 2019. 

    Recently the film received the jury prize for best film at the Nara IFF (Japan) as well as the critics prize at the CinEast Festival of Eastern and Central European Film in Luxembourg.