26/06/2023 - The intense, yet humorous, coming-of-age film poses the question of who, or what, has control over someone’s body

Award-winning filmmaker Urška Djukić, whose previous short animated documentary Granny’s Sexual Life (2021) won a slew of prizes, including the César for Best Animated Short Film (see the news) and the European Film Award for Best European Short (see the news), started shooting her debut feature on Tuesday 20 June in the town of Cividale del Friuli, Italy. According to the schedule, principal photography should take 20 days at the main location, with an additional nine days of shooting planned in Ljubljana as well as six more days over the winter period. The film is titled Little Trouble Girls [+see also:
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The protagonist is a shy and sensitive teenage girl named Lucija (played by newcomer Jara Sofija Ostan) who, while growing up, has to navigate the expectations of her environment and the discovery of her own sexuality.  The main question she has to find out the answer to is: who does her body belong to?

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a filmmaker and to be able to create an artistic reflection of myself and the world around me, so I can encourage viewers to ask questions, be critical and empathetic, as well as feel the very essence of themselves,” said Djukić as shooting got under way.

The rest of the cast consists of Mina Švajger – who already has some experience with student short-film projects – in the role of Lucija’s friend Ana Marija, as well as more experienced actors, such as Saša Tabaković, Nataša Burger, Lotos Vincenc Šparovec, Špela Frlic, Brane Završan, Mattia Casson and others. Djukić wrote the screenplay together with one of the film’s co-producers, Marina Gumzi. As for the crew, Lav Predan Kowarski handles the cinematography, Vladimir Gojun is the editor, while Julij Zornik is taking care of the sound design. Vasja Kokelj is the production designer, and the costumes were designed by Gilda Venturini. Lojze Krajnčan is tasked with composing the original score.

Little Trouble Girls is a Slovenian-Italian-Croatian-French co-production. Jožko Rutar is the producer for SPOK Films (Slovenia), Miha Černec and David Cej for Staragara IT (Italy), and Katarina Prpić for Izazov 365 (Croatia). Marina Gumzi serves as a co-producer for her company, Nosorogi (Slovenia), while the film is also being co-produced by the national TV station, RTV Slovenia, and by Julie Paratian for France's Sister Productions. The project was developed during a number of international programmes, labs and workshops, such as the Cinéfondation Residence, TorinoFilmLab, Ponta Lopud, First Films First and others. The production enjoys financial support from the Slovenian Film Centre, RTV Slovenia, the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Film Directorate, the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Film Commission and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC).