PRESS RELEASE 2 31St Liffe Set to Take Place! This Year Online Contents

Ljubljana, 5 November 2020

PRESS RELEASE 2

31st Liffe set to take place! This year online

Between 11 and 22 November 2020, the 31st Ljubljana International Film Festival films will be available online. On www.liffe.si, visitors will be able to navigate – via the VOD (video on demand) platform – some of the latest and finest offerings from filmmakers braving these challenging times. A selection of 31st Liffe films will be available to Telekom Slovenija TV subscribers. The DKino video library will feature films from previous Ljubljana International Film Festivals.

Ticket sale begins on Friday, 6 November, at 9.00 on www.liffe.si Price of ticket for a single film: €6.90

Check www.liffe.si, Liffe’s and Cankarjev dom’s FB and Cankarjev dom's YouTube channel for festival opening and closing ceremonies, accompanying programme and other updates.

Contents • Programme • Festival sections • Virtual festival opening • Awards • Juries • Accompanying programme • Sponsors • Press accreditation applications

Programme

Perspectives

The Assistant The Assistant By: Kitty Green; USA, 2019; 87' The story of a young assistant witnessing the questionable conduct of her influential boss was inspired by Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse cases that had triggered the #MeToo movement.

Gagarine Gagarine By: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh; France, 2020; 95' A glimpse at life in an ethnically diverse area on the outskirts of Paris. Shot on the cusp of the actual demolition of the Cité Gagarine housing project, the film blends realism and fertile imagination to live out the fantasies of a young boy.

Exile Exil By: Visar Morina; Kosovo, Germany, Belgium, 2020; 121' Riddled with thrilling suspense, Exile is a feverish study of a man whose mounting paranoia about being victimized exiles him from his own life. Best Film Award at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival.

My Morning Laughter Moj jutarnji smeh By: Marko Đorđević; Serbia, 2019; 94' Suffused with distinctive Balkan humour, My Morning Laughter is a tale of a generation raised under the radar of overprotective parents and struggling to cope with real life. Nebojša Glogovac makes his final movie appearance.

Apples Mila By: Christos Nikou; Greece, Poland, Slovenia, 2020; 90' A humorous cinematic allegory of the pervasive influence of emotions on human memory and the attendant role played by modern technology.

AVANTPREMIERES

Dear Comrades Dorogi tovariši By: Andrei Konchalovski; Russia, 2020; 120' The movie is based on a true story that shook the town of Novocherkassk, USSR, in 1962 and was kept secret until the Nineties.

I am Greta I Am Greta By: Nathan Grossman; Sweden, 2020; 98' A Swedish documentary about one of the most popular teenage girls, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, known for straightforwardly calling attention to the looming effects of climate change and humanity's responsibility for addressing them.

Delete History Effacer l’historique By: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern; France, Belgium, 2019; 110' An empathetic tale about three late-middle-aged non-achievers, Delépine and Kervern's Delete History is an ironic look at the major types of modern-day addiction to electronic devices.

Martin Eden By: Pietro Marcello; Italy, France, 2019; 129' Addressing issues as live as individualism, social stratification, as well as the importance and role of culture in human society, Pietro Marcello's Martin Eden transfers Jack London's novel to twentieth-century Naples.

Another Round Druk By: Thomas Vinterberg; Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, 2020; 115' Director Thomas Vinterberg and actor Mads Mikkelsen reunite for Another Round, a sobering comedy about aging, alcoholism, and friendship between men.

Father Otac By: Srđan Golubović; Serbia, France, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, BiH, 2020; 120' Srdan Golubić's fourth feature tells the tale of a father's epic journey across Serbia to get his children back from foster care, a heroic fight that redefines the word hero. A moving ode to human tenacity and parental love.

Summer of 85 Été 85 By: François Ozon; France, Belgium, 2020; 100' Ozon is returning to his filmmaking roots with Summer of 85, a tragic story about carefree friendship and unrequited love set on the coast of Normandy. Based on a novel by Aidan Chambers.

Sweat Pot By: Magnus von Horn; Poland, Sweden, 2020; 100' Three days in the life of a popular fitness motivator whose world is turned upside down when an Instagram post revealing her innermost feelings goes viral.

Terapija Thalasso By: Guillaume Nicloux; France, 2019; 93' Cast: Michel Houellebecq, Gérard Depardieu Six years after The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq the provocative French writer makes a return to the big screen, this time in the company of Gérard Depardieu.

Undine By: Christian Petzold; Germany, France, 2020; 90' A modern fairy-tale about a temperamental art historian and reticent diver defying fate and mysterious aquatic forces with their earthly fragility.

Kings and Queens

Coronation By: Ai Weiwei; China, Germany, 2020; 113' A documentary about the lockdown in Wuhan, China, during the COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020. While Ai Weiwei remotely directed the film from Europe, the filming was done by ordinary citizens living in Wuhan.

The Salt of Tears Le sel des larmes By: Philippe Garrel; France, Switzerland, 2019; 100' An apprentice cabinetmaker's ill-fated love narrated in a stylized black-and-white style, The Salt of Tears takes as its subjects both the seemingly reckless young sensuality and mature acceptance of the past as personified by the woodworker's elderly father.

Focus, Grandma Koncentriši se, baba By: Pjer Žalica; BiH, Turkey, 2020; 92' A black comedy about a disintegrating family gathered around the deathbed of their matriarch, unsuspecting of dangers that lie ahead of them as the city is living through its last days of peace.

Panorama

There Is No Evil Sheytan vojud nadarad By: Mohammad Rasoulof; Iran, Germany, Czech Republic, 2020; 149' Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof won the top prize at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival for the searingly critical There Is No Evil - four loosely related stories about the death penalty.

Extravaganza

Mandibule Mandibules Mandibles R: Quentin Dupieux; Francija, Belgija, 2020; 77' First it was a car tire, then a deerskin jacket, and now it's a humongous blowfly; from the mind of the genius Quentin Dupieux comes yet another gem with an unlikely protagonist.

Kinobalon

The Wolves Los Lobos By: Samuel Kishi Leopo; Mexico, USA, 2019; 95' For children aged 9+ (in Spanish, English and Cantonese with Slovenian subtitles)

An imaginatively told, brutally honest and yet poetic emigration story about the desires of children and worries of adults, The Wolves won Generation Kplus Grand Prix of the International Jury at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

My Brother Chases Dinosaurs Mio fratello rincorre i dinosauri By: Stefano Cipani; Italy, Spain, 2019; 102' For children aged 12+ (in Italian with Slovenian subtitles)

Based on a true story and the eponymous book by Giacomo Mazzariol, My Brother Chases Dinosaurs is a heart-rending and comic account of the challenges of adolescence, the importance of accepting difference and accepting yourself for who you are. Young jurors from 32 countries have elected the film as the winner of the EFA Young Audience Award.

Europe in Short Competitive Programme of Short films

Section I Total running time 87'

The Last Image of Father Poslednja slika o ocu By: Stefan Đorđević; Serbia, 2019; 20'

Past Perfect By: Jácome Jorge, Portugal, 2019; 22'

Winter in the Rainforest Talv vihmametsas By: Anu-Laura Tuttelberg; Estonia, Mexico, Lithuania, 2019; 9'

Community Gardens Kolektyviniai sodai By: Vytautas Katkus; Lithuania, 2019; 15'

Sun Dog By: Dorian Jespers; Belgium, Russia, 2020; 21'

Section II Total running time 77'

Invisible Hero Invisivel Heroi By: Cristèle Alves Meira; Portugal, France, 2019; 28'

Applesauce Apfelmus R: Alexander Gratzer; Austria, 2019; 7'

Carrière de Pissy R: Eliott Chabanis; France, Burkina Faso, 2019; 13'

Playing Hra By: Lun Sevnik; Czech Republic, 2019; 22'

THORAX By: Fruhauf Siegfried A.; Austria, 2019; 7'

Section III Total running time 88'

Da Yie By: Anthony Nti; Belgium, Ghana, 2019; 21'

Golden Minutes Auksinės Minutės By: Saulius Baradinskas; Lithuania, 2019; 10'

Route 3 By: Thanasis Neofotistos; BiH, Greece, 2019; 13'

Hotdog By: Alma Buddecke, Marleen Valin; Germany, 2019; 8'

All Cats Are Grey in the Dark By: Lasse Linder; Switzerland, 2019; 18'

Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves Toomas teispool metsikute huntide orgu By: Chintis Lundgren; Estonia, Croatia, France, 2019; 18'

Festival sections Perspectives, the official competitive section of young filmmakers competing for the Kingfisher Award sponsored by Telekom Slovenije, d.d. Avant-premieres, a selection of the world’s finest films purchased for Slovenian distribution Kings and Queens, films by notable and award-winning contemporary cinema virtuosos World Film Panorama, five-continent festival favourites Extravaganza, so-called late-night cinema of daring artists addressing idiosyncratic or sensual topics Kinobalon, a selection of films for audiences aged between 5 and 14; in cooperation with the Kinodvor Cinema Europe in Short, competitive programme of short films

Festival opening

WED, 11 November, at 19.30 You are cordially invited to watch the 31st Liffe opening ceremony, to be streamed on www.liffe.si, Liffe’s and Cankarjev dom’s FB and Cankarjev dom’s YouTube channel.

Awards

Awards Kingfisher, international jury award presented by the general sponsor, Telekom Slovenije, d.d., to the best film of the Perspectives section. Dragon Audience Award to best-rated film FIPRESCI Prize, presented by the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics. Best Short Film Award Slovenian Art Cinema Association Award

Kingfisher Jury

Zdravko Duša graduated in English and comparative literature from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. After holding posts at ČGP Delo and Studio Marketing Delo, he worked as a fiction and humanities editor for the Cankarjeva založba publishing company for three decades. As a translator, he mainly devoted himself to late-twentieth-century American and English drama, whilst also translating some important novels from that period into Slovenian. As well as leading Pokaži jezik, a series of workshops on screenwriting, for a number of years, he promoted the publishing of renowned authors’ books on screenwriting. His credits as a script- and dialogue writer or walk-on actor include documentaries, feature films, and TV series. Zdravko Duša’s short story, Pa ravno tako je bilo, inspired Oroslan (2019), a film by Matjaž Ivanišin.

Marina Gumzi studied dramaturgy, theatre studies and film production in Ljubljana, Berlin and Paris. Since 2013 serving as director of Nosorogi Institute (Playing Men, 2017; Zgodbe iz kostanjevih gozdov, 2019), a research-oriented micro-scale production house, she also works as its producer and screenwriter. Between 2019 and 2020 she was member of the Next Wave postgraduate programme's first research group, which enabled her to study new models of film distribution and contemporary trends in AV media production and curatorial practices.

Literary comparatist and professor of philosophy Ženja Leiler was a long-time journalist, critic and editor of the newspaper Delo. Her work as a journalist and critic is related to the fields of cultural policy, society, film, literature and theatre. She outlined the conceptual design of Pogledi, a biweekly focusing on art, culture and society, and served as its editor-in-chief between 2010 and 2013. She received the Jurčič Prize for her journalistic achievements. She was Director-General of the Ministry of Culture's Media Directorate and actively supervised the drafting of film and media legislation. She is the author of the book of essays Zapisi in zapiki, which was nominated for the Rožanc Award, and has co-curated the exhibition Ivan Cankar and Europe – Between Shakespeare and Kafka.

Best Short Film Award Jury

Katja Lenarčič

Katja was part of the film sales team of the Berlin-based M-appeal agency for several years. In 2015, she joined the production company EnaBanda, where she worked as a producer on documentary and short films by young Slovenian directors shown at various international film festivals, including Sarajevo, Clermont-Ferrand, and Thessaloniki. Between 2016 and 2019, she was project manager of Kratka scena (Short Scene), a scriptwriting workshop for short films. She has been on the team of the Vertigo production company since 2020.

Rok Kajzer Nagode

Rok graduated from the University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, majoring in film and television directing. In 2019, he earned an MA in restoration and revitalization of film heritage, within the context of which he digitally restored V temi, a documentary film by Žarko Lužnik. As director of photography, he has worked on more than 20 short films, including Prespana pomlad, Mladi Menendes and Plavanje. For his contribution to the films K.A.O.S. and Kar ostane Rok Kajzer Nagode won the 2016 and 2017 IRIS Awards for Student Film Photography presented by the Slovenian Association of Cinematographers. Projects outside his studies include the feature film Posledice, as well as several documentaries, TV- and online series, and short films.

Igor Prassel

A freelance journalist specialising in comics, animated film and film, Prassel graduated in journalism from the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana. Since 2000 he has been on the programme team of the Slovenian Cinematheque – as head of Animateka, a monthly animated film series. He was editor-in- chief of the comics magazine Stripburger, programme selector of various film festivals (Sniff, Dokma, Kino Otok, G-Fest) and contemporary art festivals (Break 21, City of Women), co-curator – with Irena Čerčnik – of the Slovenian Comics and Animated Film 1996–2006 exhibition in Celje’s Gallery of Contemporary Art and director of the Slovenian Film Festival. He is also a founding member of the Slovenian Animated Film Society and author of Filmography of the Slovenian Animated Film 1952– 2012. Since its launch in 2004, he has been programming director of the International Animated Film Festival Animateka and since 2017 film programme curator and Head of the Programme Department of the Slovenian Cinematheque.

Slovenian Art Cinema Association Jury

Gregor Janežič is a self-employed professional in culture and curates the Vrhnika cinema programme as an external partner of the Ivan Cankar Institute in Vrhnika. He has been involved in Kino Vrhnika since its revival in 2011. His work includes implementing film education and young audiences’ education programmes, as well as carefully selecting the regular cinema programme. He aims to programme as many quality European titles as possible, thus providing broader audiences with access to art film.

Žan Papič is a cinephile. He attends film festivals, mostly in Slovenia and in the nearby regions (Motovun, Trieste). He has a lot of experience in hosting events, including the IRIS awards ceremony – the award acknowledging achievements in film photography (between 2015 and 2020). He has been involved in hosting shows and stand-up comedy for a longer period of time and is currently performing in K(o)ronske zdrahe, a production by the Slovenian Permanent Theatre in Trieste. He acted in three Slovenian TV series and the feature documentary Za Pavla Knobla skovano.

Uroš Zavodnik is a filmmaker, screenwriter, actor, and director of several feature and documentary films. He obtained his PhD in film directing in Austria, in association with Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, with a dissertation on the fiction film Der Prozess. He teaches film and photography at the AAU Klagenfurt, the AMEU Dance Academy and the University of Maribor. He implements film education programmes for young and broader cinema audiences within the context of the Slovenian Art Cinema Association and KD Slovenj Gradec Cinema. He runs Filmski studio na Gradu production studio at the Ravne na Koroškem grammar school. As a photographer, he has held several solo and group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad.

Slovenian Art Cinema Association juried films Gagarine Martin Eden The Salt of Tears (Le sel des larmes) There is no Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad) Sweat (Pot) Undine Wife of a Spy (Supai no tsuma) Father (Otac)

Accompanying programme

WED, 11 November 2020, 17.00–19.00, www.liffe.si, Liffe FB and Cankarjev dom's YouTube channel

For children aged 7+ Workshop: Blank Paper Using the paper-folding technique, children will create optional characters and bring them to life with the stop-motion technique. The participants will need a mobile phone or tablet, a sheet of paper and a dash of patience. Organised by: Pionirski dom

SAT, 14 November 2020, 16.00–18.00, Liffe’s and Cankarjev dom’s FB and Cankarjev dom's YouTube channel

For children aged 7+ Workshop: Magic Box Using their imagination, young people will weave unexpected stories with various household objects. Objects will come to life by way of the stop-motion animation, a filmmaking technique in which we will physically move objects in small increments and capture them on film one frame at a time. The participants will need a mobile phone or tablet. Organised by: Pionirski dom

THU, 12 November, at 17.00, www.rtvslo.si/kultura; www.liffe.si and Liffe FB, Cankarjev dom's YouTube channel

MMC Event The Assistant, the first ‘#MeToo Era’ film to be released after film producer Harvey Weinstein’s stunning downfall (he has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex assault), will serve as an overture to a broader debate on toxic work environments and a culture of silence in which perpetrators can go unpunished because everyone is turning a blind eye. What do we talk about when we talk about a “rotten system”? Taking our cue from director Kitty Green's film, we will try to refute the eternal argument: “Why didn't she say anything if she witnessed the abuse?” The talk with Nika Kovač, Director of Inštitut 8. marec, and film critic Petra Meterc will be hosted by Ana Jurc.

FRI, 13 November, at 19.00, www.liffe.si, Liffe FB, Cankarjev dom’s YouTube channel Image-Music at Liffe 6th International Competitive Music Video Programme In cooperation with Tresk Festival Image-Music this year from the comfort of your home! By now a traditional event, Image- Music will accompany Liffe’s main programme as an online event. At the web screening, Matic Majcen will present twelve candidates for best music video of 2019. Together with a guest, director Matevž Jerman, he will focus on the brilliant video album Confessions to the Ghosts that won first prize at this year's Tresk Festival. The viewers will vote for best music video of the year, and receive prizes (vinyl records). Still, the 12 music video masterpieces are reason enough for all fans of contemporary music to attend the virtual event.

MON, 16 November, this year online European Cinema Night Apples Film screening and talk with the director

European Cinema Night – an initiative to promote European cinema – was launched under the auspices of Creative Europe MEDIA programme in cooperation with Europa Cinemas, an international network of cinemas focusing on European films.

54 cinemas from 34 different countries joined the initiative in 2018 and 2019, offering a wide and varied selection of free screenings.

Following the decision of the organisers to further increase the number of participating cinemas this year, as many as 75 cinemas across Europe, including Ljubljana’s Kinodvor Cinema – within the context of the Liffe Festival –, are joining the initiative between 16 and 20 November.

Within this context, Apples will be shown on Monday, 16 November, at 19.00. After the screening, the director Christos Nikou will join us for a talk. 60 viewers will be given free access to the film; please visit Kinodvor’s website and FB page for instructions on how to get a free access link.

Tuesday, 17 November 2020, at 13.00 online (Zoom)

The Future of the AV Industry after the Pandemic: A Look Ahead The film industry was facing radical changes already before the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis that only served to accelerate the process of transformation. Organised by Motovila Institute (Creative Europe Desk Slovenia) and Slovenian Art Cinema Association in partnership with Centre for Creativity and with the support of the Municipality of Ljubljana and Slovenian Film Centre, the event will take a look into the future of the audio- visual industry in the light of the pandemic and the new EU Creative Europe programme. Two specific issues will be tackled: What are the challenges that the audio-visual production, distribution, promotion and consumption will be facing on a 3- to 5-year horizon? Industry analyst Johanna Koljonen, author of the Nostradamus Report 2020 that predicts a time of creative explosion as well as chaos for the international AV industry in the coming years, will provide a general insight into the future of the screen industries. Nostradamus Report is an international initiative to document and analyse industry changes and make projections for the future.

How do alliances between cinemas and online platforms open up new ways of connecting with the audiences? The pandemic prompted many cinemas to stream their films on an on- demand platform, thus enabling the survival of the exhibition sector during these troubled times whilst making it easier for the audiences to access quality films. With examples from the Netherlands, Poland and Croatia, we will try to determine whether this business model is becoming a common practice in the exhibition sector, its implications for cinemas and their audiences, and what we can expect in the coming months as cinemas across Europe are again facing closures. Experiences will be shared by Marynia Gierat (Kino pod Baranami, Krakow), Simon Blaas (Cinema Middelburg, Middelburg) and Alen Munitić (Cinema Mediteran, Split); the discussion will be hosted by Jure Matičič (Slovenian Art Cinema Association, City Cinema Domžale).

The event will be held in English without translation. Upon applying, you will be sent an invite with a join link to the Zoom meeting. Live streaming will also take place on www.liffe.si, Liffe FB and Cankarjev dom’s YouTube channel, as well as the Motovila (CED Slovenia) and the Slovenian Art Cinema Association FBs. More information and applications: www.motovila.si and www.artkinomreza.si.

The project is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and the Republic of Slovenia, as well as the Municipality of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Film Centre.