[30 YEARS OF INDEPENDENT SLOVENIA] FIRST FEATURE FILM: GRANDMA GOES SOUTH

By: Petra Janša

Grandma Goes South (Babica gre na jug), a film by director Vinci Vogue Anžlovar, is the first feature film in independent Slovenia. To date, the Slovenian Film Database (BSF) lists 423 Slovenian feature films, the most expensive of which is Janez Burger’s war drama Silent Sonata (Circus Fantasticus, 2011).

Five films in 1991

The year 1991 was marked by five Slovenian feature films. The first of them was Anžlovar’s comic drama Grandma Goes South, which tells the story of Mrs. Sara, portrayed by Majolka Šuklje. At the age of 68, Sara escapes from a nursing home in search of freedom. Outside, she meets the dreamy musician David (Bojan Emeršič), who escapes due to disputes with his landlord, and the musician Laura (Nataša Matjašec), who leaves his music jazz band. All three together, in an old unregistered Mercedes, go for a ride towards the south, and towards a new life. Along the way, they experience many things, from sadness to joy, and warm human bonds. Grandma has never had such a good time. Among other things, at one petrol station they meet an unfortunate salesman who is threatening suicide, and at another one, they meet a very cheerful and artistic salesman (Gojmir Lešnjak). Then, they almost crash into a truck and also hit the main prize in the Portorož casino. The film was watched by 79,809 viewers.

Slovenian feature films from 1991 were also: Janez Drozg’s romantic drama Love, Kranj Style (Ljubezen po kranjsko), based on the story of the same name by Janez Zupan; Miran Zupanič’s comedy Operation Cartier (Operacija Cartier), based on the novel Drobtinica by Miha Mazzini; a thriller by Boris Jurjaševič The Queen of Hearts (Srčna dama); a comedy by Jure Pervanje Triangle (Triangel).

The most watched films in independent Slovenia

The most watched film in independent Slovenia is considered to be the budgetless satirical comedy Pr ‘Hostar by director Luka Marčetič from 2016. The plot is that, due to the director’s greed, a small rural hotel called Pr’Hostar finds itself in the red, and a foreign buyer of dubious reputation is already knocking on the door. The hotel staff does not want to land on the road, so they decide to avoid the sale. Their desperate attempts fail as if on a conveyor belt and cause complete confusion, and they can only get out of the comic chaos with their own ingenuity and plenty of luck. According to the box office, the film was watched by 212,812 viewers.

This satirical comedy on the list of the most watched Slovenian films in Slovenia is followed by: Miha Hočevar’s youth comedy Going Our Way (Gremo mi po svoje), 208,731 viewers; Marko Naberšnik’s romantic comedy drama Rooster’s Breakfast (Petelinji zajtrk), 183,269 viewers; comedy by Branko Đurić Đuro Cheese and Jam (Kajmak in marmelada), 155,213 viewers; continuation of Hočevar’s youth comedy Going Our Way 2, 128,366 viewers.

The most expensive Slovenian films

And what is the most expensive film in independent Slovenia? This is a feature film by Janez Burger with a budget of 2,418,932 euros, which talks about the war through a brilliant intertwining of image and sound and completely without words. It was awarded the best film of the 13th Slovenian Film Festival and is the winner of six Vesna awards and the Kodak Award for Best Photography. Circus Fantasticus is also screened internationally with the title Silent Sonata and was selected for the 2011 European Film Award (EFA).

What did we watch in 1991?