Ciao Bela is a film about teenagers today, the problems they face and their search for self-expression. It’s a film about growing up, first love, first disappointments, first trials of the forbidden and first big decisions in a world where values still apply: friendship, trust, and equality between girls and boys. All these are woven into the story of a strong girl, Bela, who attends the first grade of high school and starts her own music group.

The screenplay is written by the director himself together with Nina Koklej and Marko Bratuš. The main roles are played by the newcomers Alisa Milićević, Gaja Mazvita Strauss, Maša Slapar, Luka Lukša, Laura Prajs, Brin Strnad Volkar and France Mandić, while the renowned Croatian actor Krešimir Mikić plays Bela’s father.

Ciao Bela is produced by Nina Jeglič and Jani Sever through Sever & Sever Production in coproduction with RTV Slovenija, Interfilm (Croatia) and Zillion Film (Serbia). The project is supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, with technical support provided by FS Viba. The budget is estimated at 620,000 EUR.

“We are currently applying to Croatian and Serbian film funds through our Croatian and Serbian coproducers,” Nina Jeglič told FNE.

The 28-day shooting will take place in Ljubljana during July and August 2023 with additional two shooting days in November 2023.

The film is expected to be finished in the autumn of 2024.

Jani Sever (1963), a former journalist and editor-in-chief of the leading Slovenian political weekly Mladina, works as a producer, director and screenwriter. He has produced more than 10 documentaries and feature films, five shorts, a TV and a web series, as well as directed many documentaries, among them Pero Lovšin – You Can (2018, Sever & Sever) and the long documentary Antigone - How Dare We! (2020, Sever & Sever), which won Best Documentary at the 23rd Festival of Slovenian Film.

Production Information:

Producer:
Sever & Sever Production (Slovenia)
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Coproducers:
RTV Slovenija (Slovenia)
Interfilm (Croatia)
Zillion Film (Serbia)

Credits:
Director: Jani Sever
Screenwriters: Jani Sever, Nina Koklej, Marko Bratuš
DoP: Darko Herič
Editor: Ivana Fumić
Music: Zemljagruva and Konstrakta
Cast: Alisa Milićević, Gaja Mazvita Strauss, Maša Slapar, Luka Lukša, Laura Prajs, Brin Strnad Volkar, France Mandić, Krešimir Mikić, Suzana Krevh, Maruša Oblak, Ana Urbanc