Slovenian filmmaker Lun Sevnik has completed filming on his debut feature, The Healers (Zdravilca), produced by Rok Biček’s outfit Cvinger Film. The film was shot over 30 days between Ljubljana and its surroundings and Split, in Croatia.

The story follows Max, a charming, ever-smiling new-age healer drowning in debt. Although he is convinced that he will somehow find a way out, the problems keep piling up: his only friend and landlord, Samo, is threatening to evict him; local loan sharks are threatening his life; his former partner, Aleks, is threatening to prevent him from seeing their ten-year-old son, Val. When Max takes the boy to visit a wealthy new client, Vida, instead of going on a birthday trip to the zoo as planned, she becomes convinced that the boy can save her life with his touch. As news of the miraculous child quickly spreads through Ljubljana’s spiritual elite, Max seizes the opportunity to turn hope into money and fulfill his dream of a better life for himself and his fractured family. However, Val soon begins to buckle under the weight of expectations, while Max’s debts catch up with him faster than he can run.

The film stars Matevž Sluga as Max, Val is played by Anvar Nikolenko (who was selected for the role from more than 600 children who auditioned for the part), Nataša Barbara Gračner (Wake Me, Class Enemy) plays Vida. The cast is completed by Macedonian actress Sara Klimoska (Housekeeping for Beginners) as Aleks and Grega Zorc (Seduce Me) as Samo.

Sevnik co-wrote the screenplay with Atila Urbančič, with whom he developed the project at TorinoFilmLab’s ScriptLab programme. Sevnik, a graduate of Prague’s FAMU, received Vesna awards for his short films Voyage Voyage and Playing. The film he directed for his master’s degree, The Sea in Between, received several awards, including the PAG Youth Jury Award at the Trieste Film Festival.

The film’s director of photography is Kryštof Melka, a Czech cinematographer who has worked on all of Sevnik’s short films. Maja Šavc was in charge of production design, working with Croatian costume designer Mia Ventin. Goran Ignjatovski handled make-up and Martin Vovk sound recording.

The Healers is a Slovenian-Macedonian-Czech-Croatian-French co-production staged by Rok Biček for Cvinger Film, in co-production with Marina Gumzi for Nosorogi, Blaž Jelnikar for MB Grip, Sara Ferro for Skopje-based PPFP, Julie Marková Žáčková for Nochi Film, Adrijana Prugovečki for Zagreb-based Woodz Production and Janja Kralj for Kinoelektron, along with Radiotelevizija Slovenija. The film is supported by the Slovenian Film Centre and the North Macedonia Film Agency, with the participation of Viba Film Studio. The development of the project was supported by ReAct as well as Creative Europe MEDIA. The film is expected to premiere in 2027.