28/10/2024 - Other recipients of multiple Vesna awards include Hanna Slak's Not a Word, Klemen Dvornik's Block 5 and Maja Doroteja Prelog's Cent’anni

l-r: Marko Mandić, Mitja Ličen, Mila Bezjak, Sonja Prosenc, Primož Hladnik, Katarina Stegnar, Boris Benko with their awards for Family Therapy (© Katja Goljat/Matjaž Rušt)

The Festival of Slovenian Film that took place in the coastal town of Portorož between 22-27 October concluded with the awards ceremony that was held at the town’s iconic Auditorium. This year’s edition saw a rise in attendance by more than 20%, as well as some changes in the concept of the festival’s industry programme that stepped away from a strictly national orientation towards a more regional direction.

Two of the biggest industry events, the opening and the closing one, were both aimed at co-productions. The opening event was the Austrian-Slovenian co-production meeting that consisted of a talk between Slovenian Film Centre director Nataša Bučar and director of the Austrian Film Institute Roland Teichmann, as well as Fritz Hock from the Carinthian Film Commission, moderated by Slovenian producer and distributor Petra Vidmar of Gustav Film, followed by a pitching session at which Slovenian filmmakers and producers presented their projects in development and in progress to potential Austrian partners. 

The closing event was a panel about the possibilities of co-productions in the wider region of South East Europe. Nataša Bučar moderated the discussion where the director of the Greek Film Centre Athena Kartalou, the director of the Film Centre of Montenegro Aleksandra Božović, the director of the Bulgarian Film Centre Petar Todorov, the director of Film Centre Serbia Ivan Karl, the director of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre Chris Marcich and the head of the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Audiovisual Fund Alessandro Gropplero presented the activities and rules of their institutions, as well as plans for tighter co-operations in the future.

Regarding the film programme, the big winner of the night was Sonja Prosenc’s Family Therapy [+see also:
film review
interview: Sonja Prosenc
film profile] which scooped no fewer than seven Vesna awards, including Best Film. The rest of them went to the filmmaker herself for the screenplay, both lead actors Katarina Stegnar and Marko Mandić, supporting actress Mila Bezjak, composers Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik for the original score, and Tajana Čanić Stanković for production design. Hanna Slak’s Not a Word [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hanna Slak
film profile] took home three Vesnas: the filmmaker was crowned as Best Director, Tina Lašič Andrejević received the Best Make-Up Award, while the film itself was awarded Best Minority Co-Production. 

Other films receiving multiple awards were Klemen Dvornik’s Block 5 [+see also:
film review
film profile] which was crowned in the categories of Cinematography (David Hofmann) and Costume Design (Katarina Šavs), with one more Vesna for Special Achievement, as well as Maja Doroteja Prelog’s Cent’anni [+see also:
film review
film profile] which also received a Vesna for Special Achievement on top of the Best Editing Award (Uroš Maksimović). Prelog’s film also won the award from the national FIPRESCI section, while the award from the Art Cinema Network of Slovenia went to Martin Turk’s The Volta Cinema [+see also:
film review
film profile], and Slobodan Maksimović’s Praslovan [+see also:
interview: Slobodan Maksimović
film profile] got the Vesna Audience Award.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Vesna Awards

Best Feature Film
Family Therapy [+see also:
film review
interview: Sonja Prosenc
film profile] – Sonja Prosenc (Slovenia/Italy/Croatia/Norway/Serbia)

Best Director
Hanna Slak – Not a Word [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hanna Slak
film profile] (Germany/Slovenia/France)

Best Screenplay
Sonja Prosenc – Family Therapy

Best Leading Actress
Katarina Stegnar – Family Therapy

Best Lead Actor
Marko Mandić – Family Therapy

Best Supporting Actress
Mila Bezjak – Family Therapy

Best Supporting Actor
Krešimir Mikić – Ciao Bela (Slovenia)

Best Cinematography
David Hofmann – Block 5 [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Slovenia/Croatia/Czech Republic/Serbia)

Special Mention
Gregor Božič – The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Croatia/France/Bulgaria/Slovenia)

Best Original Music
Boris Benko, Primož Hladnik – Family Therapy

Best Editing
Uroš Maksimović – Cent’anni [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Slovenia/Italy/Poland/Serbia/Austria)

Best Production Design
Tajana Čanić Stanković – Family Therapy

Best Costume Design
Katarina Šavs – Block 5

Best Make-up
Tina Lasič Andrejević – Not a Word

Best Sound
Boštjan Kačičnik – Once upon a Tima in Soča Valley (Slovenia)

Best Minority Co-production
Not a Word – Hanna Slak

Special Achievement
Block 5 – Klemen Dvornik
Cent’anni – Maja Doroteja Prelog

Special Mention
Alpe-Adria Underground! [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Matevž Jerman, Jurij Meden (Slovenia)

Best Documentary
A Tree Grows Every Night in My Dreams – Vid Hajnšek (Slovenia)

Special Mention
Once upon a Time in Soča Valley – Ema Kugler
Snatched from the Source – Maja Weiss (Slovenia)

Best Short Film
N/A

Best Animated Film
Three Birds – Zarja Menart (Slovenia/Croatia)

Special Mention
Catlands – Ana Čigon (Slovenia/Croatia)

Best Experimental Film of Audiovisual Work
VEL_VET_VEL – Miha Možina (Slovenia)

Special Mention
The Future… Is Just Like You Imagined It (Slovenia/Croatia)

Best Student Film
N/A

Special Mention
Beyond the Face – Anja Resman (Slovenia)
(Un)lucky Day – Karin Likar (Slovenia)
The Window – Nel Jeraj Sedej (Slovenia)
Interface – Špela Koščak (Slovenia)
Threads – Iza Mlakar (Slovenia)
After – David Champaigne (Slovenia)

Vesna Audience Award
Praslovan [+see also:
interview: Slobodan Maksimović
film profile] – Slobodan Maksimović (Slovenia/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/Serbia)

Other Awards

FIPRESCI Award
Cent’anni – Maja Doroteja Prelog

Art Kino Network of Slovenia (AKMS) Award
The Volta Cinema [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Martin Turk (Slovenia/Italy)