08-10-2007

Slovenian Film Festival expands beyond domestic borders

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    The Slovenian Film Festival, which opened Sunday for its 10th year, is featuring two new sections designed to extend the festival's horizons beyond domestic borders in advance of Slovenia's presidency of the European Union next year.

    The Europeaan Dialogues section was launched in cooperation with Germany's Goethe Institute and embassies and cultural representations of European countries. It starts with the German film Holiday and will conclude with the Czech film I Served the King of England, a black comedy set in the decade before the Second World War.

    A second new section will focus on co-production meetings to advance Slovenian film.

    Monday's opening ceremony featured a screening of the film Rooster's Breakfast, the feature debut of Slovenian director Marko Naberšnik, based on the book by prominent Slovenian author Feri Lainšček and replete with unpredictable plots and bittersweet twists.

    The festival will screen 61 films altogether. Eight feature films, two medium-length films and 10 short films will compete for the Vesna awards within the official program.