Best Slovenian documentary movies

A vision for a world free of pollution and climate problems, with energy available in abundance - are we ready to take up legacy of ingenious inventor Nikola Tesla?

The documentary visually presents the very diverse fauna and flora of Slovenia, focusing on mammals and birds, and shows some particularly interesting species of amphibians, fish, insects and plants. It takes place over a period of one year and takes the viewer through typical Slovenian landscapes. The plot crosses between the provinces and occasionally returns to the same area in order to show what is happening in the animal world in the second part of the year. A very rich ecosystem diversity, rarely seen recordings, and scientifically verified information weaved into the intelligible text are key attributes of this film.

Joker Out proudly presents their first solo arena show captured as an exclusive concert film.

Karpotrotter is a road movie about place, time, and memory, as well as an homage to filmmaker Karpo Godina, whose work flourished during the Black Wave of Yugoslav filmmaking in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Contemporary filmmaker Matjaz Ivanisin retraces the footsteps, 40 years later, of his compatriot’s road trip through small villages in the rural countryside. Constructed from Godina’s 8mm footage from this journey, Ivanisin interlaces this material with landscape footage from his current road trip and contemporary interviews of the citizenry who recall Godina’s visit decades earlier; period folkloric music augments the soundtrack. The filmmaker structures his film in five sections that articulate the local character of different villages. Richly multi-layered in both temporal and spatial terms, the filmmaker constructs a poignant meditation about the local village culture and inhabitants of this rural region of the former Yugoslavia.

Sarajevo Safari, a documentary by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic, uncovers little-known shocking details about the Bosnian War of the 90s. The film is about rich foreigners who paid money for the opportunity to shoot civilians in the besieged capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the positions of the Serb army. The film showcased at the Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival garnered great interest.

Laibach North American Tour 2004 and Laibach live 13.12.2004 La Locomotive, Paris, France This Film is a unique document of the Laibach tour, during the traumatic post-election atmosphere in The USA, a country deeply divided by two opposite political and cultural poles. The tour has been therefore named "The Divided States of America Tour".

In Varja Mocnik's documentary, members of former Yugoslav rock band Buldozer, their friends and fans reminisce about the time of the release of the band's debut album Pljuni istini u oci (1975). Their accounts interlace with fictitious scenes, the record artwork, archive material and animation, to ultimately come together into an inventive, surrealist film that speaks not just of the legendary album, but also of the society and reality of the time.

The movie The Last Ice Hunters tells a story of the present generation of hunters in the Inuit community of Eastern Greenland, the final chapter in their 4000-year-old history.

People respond on media objectivity and election law during Dr. Artur Stern's experimental run for president in 2007, Slovenia.

The film documents the history of the Slovenian rap music and its relationship to poetry, literature and politics of the present.

A documentary about the dizzying rise and fall of the Slovenian information technology giant Iskra Delta

In 2007 three artists joined the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and officially changed their names to that of the leader of that party, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša. While they renamed themselves for personal reasons, the boundaries between their lives and their art began to merge in numerous and unforeseen ways.

Worker's quarters on Vida Pregarc Street, Ljubljana: a house originally built to accommodate construction workers has storeys, three entrances, and as a result of the privatization process, nineteen owners. The fates of its residents vary...

Ulay is a conceptual artist whose photography pushed boundaries, and whose love affair with Marina Abramovic produced some of the best pieces of performance art. Diagnosed with cancer shortly after agreeing to film the documentary, Ulay's illness informs Project Cancer, which is part-retrospective, part-visual document of the year he believed could be the last of his extraordinary life.

A film about the first Laibach album officially released in Yugoslavia. The record came out despite the political ban that was in place on the band's name at the time, in 1985 - but without the name or a title. A black cross on the cover was enough.

24 October 2015, a nice day in autumn in a nice landscape. A crowd of refugees and migrants accompanied by soldiers and police officers make their way from the Schengen border between Slovenia and Croatia towards the refugee camp in Brežice. Suddenly, the landscape starts to appear less nice than it was.

The documentary film depicts one aspect of the hacking scene and its evolution in the last 20 years. Who are hackers and what drives them? The film was produced for the 20-year anniversary of SI-CERT (Slovenian Computer Emergency Response Team) in cooperation with Sever & Sever Production and Slovenian National TV.

Based on motifs from The Triple Life of Antigone by Slavoj Žižek, this film reflects on today’s planet and political “chaos” by placing the politicians, the decision-makers and the influencers of today in the roles of Žižek’s version of the ancient Greek drama Antigone. But what are the politicians roles? Does the Antigone of today represent populists, anti-migrants and fundamentalists, or those who would oppose them?

"Instead of Whom a Flower Now Blooms", "That Black Guitar", "Dizzy Heights" and other songs by the singer, poet and author Vlado Kreslin have already become folk tunes. Vlado is an eminent performer of popular music with a cult status, which is not a result of self-promotion strategies, but rather a consequence of his exceptional personal charisma and suggestive music expression. The documentary takes a look at the key stages of how Vlado Kreslin developed his authentic artistic expression. At the same time it frames the wider cultural context that Vlado has been creating in for more than forty years. However, this is first and foremost a film about music and music lovers.

The film deals with the fate of children who, together with their parents, were imprisoned in the Teharje camp near Celje. In June 1945, they were separated from their parents and taken to the Petricek children's camp, and their parents killed and buried in unknown places without trial. Inside the camp, the guards try to rip out the old children's identity with various overhauling measures and to enforce them a new identity. Children lost their parents and childhood, and got wounded so deeply, they have not healed even until today.

A documentary about modern-day comics.

Documentary film explores the role of women in the Slovenian film and is also looking for reflections in the film classics of the constant changing position of women in the society. Documentary also refers to popular and lesser-known women's roles in the history of Slovenian film, heroines in the literal sense, typical roles in many partisan films, as well as the established cliches: a suffering mother, adulteress, gossip. Through interviews with the actresses, theorists and artists as well as analyzing the most common phrases expressed by women in the Slovenian films, the film tries to reveal the true Slovenian film heroine.

Documentary on famous Slovenian accordionist and his musical family.

A wild man in wilderness is nothing extraordinary, it is something easily imagined. But how to live in wilderness as an urban, civilised person? How to strike a balance between harmony with nature and participation in the society – without fear, cynicism, regret, frustration? How to retain your dignity in difference? How to live with less without any sacrifice? This is a story of a man who has taken fate into his own hands, radically reducing his dependence on dispensable essential material possessions of the modern society without cutting off his participation in it. This is a story of Nara, Nara Petrovič – Human.

Deep in the bosom of the native soil, among idyllic hillocks, live men and their tractors. Trahere is a short documentary on what might be the most Slovenian of all relationships: man – tractor.

Interpersonal relationships in a dysfunctional family under the microscope of the camera.

In a not-too-distant future ravaged by climate crisis, a team of scientists analyse the archival footage of farmers from the past, in an attempt to understand their connection to the land. In this beautifully shot blend of documentary and fiction, Gregor Božić pays warm tribute to the old growers of the Goriška region in Western Slovenia, who appreciated fruit as more than merely a product for sale.

World-class climbers Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic tackle the tallest artificial multi-pitch route in the world when they scale the highest chimney in Europe at Slovenia's Trbovlje Power Station.

A short film from Slovenia made by Karol Grossmann.

Former Camorra killer Cristina Pinto is facing the challenges of everyday life after her discharge from prison. Soon after her release, her partner Rafaele, 20 years older than she, is diagnosed with lung cancer. Pinto seeks refuge with her 28-year-old daughter Ellena, and tries to bridge a 24-year-old void in their relationship. At the age of 46, Pinto tries to re-establish herself as a lover, mother, and grandmother. Is she able to overcome her violent history and live in a loving relationship with her closest ones? Is she able to love

Every year in Ljubljana, during the Pride Parade, a big rainbow flag is hung from the Ljubljana castle tower. Each colour symbolizes a different component of the LGBTIQ+ identity, all of them together illustrating the diversity of the LGBTIQ+ community. Through eight personal stories, the film discusses the importance of the flag and its significance for LGBTIQ+ people.

Instructed teaching of social dances for the new millennium in dancing school Urska in Ljubljana.

Documentary from biggest rock festival in Slovenia. Performers: Big Foot Mama, Indust Bag, Dicky B Hardy, Warpigs, Veliki Bijeli Slon, Borut Veselko, Drustvo Mrtvih pesnikov, Adi Smolar, Dan D, Schal Sick Brass Band, Temni Angeli Usode, Plavi Orkestar, Hic Et Nunc, Durhmarsh, Wet Bed, Skroz, Terra Mystica, Z'kovaci, Rok Otocec, Buldozer, Rambo Amadeus, Zabranjeno Pusenje, Zoran Predin.

In the video works of Ema Kugler, mythology is inscribed in the rituals of everyday life, this time it is the theme of Hydra with many faces. It is illustrated by individual scenes with actors in leather costumes (the author's creations), which restrict their movement and thus already emphasize the separation of man from nature. The last trace of connection - the ritual relationship between man and bull, which is again based on human cruelty to animals - ends with blood, which on a symbolic level also pervades the whole image.

The Balkans cradles Europe's last wild rivers and supports abundant wildlife and healthy, intact ecosystems. These rivers are "The Undamaged" – clean, pristine, and undammed. With over 2,700 small and large hydro power plants planned or under construction in the Balkans, corruption and greed are destroying the last free-flowing rivers of Europe. Follow the Balkan Rivers Tour, a rowdy crew of whitewater kayakers, filmers, photographers and friends who decided to stand up for the rivers, travelling from Slovenia to Albania for 36 days, kayaking 23 rivers in 6 countries to protest the dams and show the world the secret wild rivers of the Balkans. The film honours everyday people and local activists who are fighting to defend rivers and aims to spread the word of the plight of these rivers, showing a new style of nature conservation that is fun, energetic and effective.

1905 short film showing people walking down a Ljutomer street after mass.

It began in 1984 and it still goes on today. 35 years of the LGBT movement in Slovenia through the prism of activism and culture.

A film about a theatre performance and four very notable people behind it: writer and director D. Jovanović, actress M. Zupančič and actors R. Polič and B. Cavazza. This is a story of a love triangle and of a multi-layered, entirely overt intertwining of protagonists’ public artistic personas and their personal lives. The film documents a 4-month process of the making of a theatre piece from the first rehearsal to the opening night, at the same time uncovering the intimate lives of the artists and telling a universal story of the relationship between the real and the imagined, a story of personal and public perceptions of art.

A short film from Slovenia made by Karol Grossmann.

Video made by Izvanredni Bob with my GoPro Hero3 Black + during the international documentary film workshop in Ptuj (Slovenia) organised by DZMP Krško.

19 filmmakers from ten european countries selected by Mike Figgis for a Masterclass by the European Film Academy come to Slovenia in a challenging mission: to conceive, shoot, complete a 90m feature film in seven days and screen it on the day after in a cinema for the public.

This first-person documentary provides an inside look into the terrifying and bloody events that shook Central Europe in the 1990s, as the filmmaker takes a trip along the road that once united the disparate states of Yugoslavia, from Slovenia to Macedonia. A film about memory, hatred, love and hope.

People of different nationalities from Central Europe attempting to reach the West by crossing the controls and “European” rules.

A documentary featurette about the Slovenian singer-songwriter Tomaž Pengov.

Tajga was shot after the performance of the same name, performed at the international festival of contemporary arts City of Women in October 1995 in Ljubljana. The viewer enters a dark atmosphere dictated by dramatic vocal-electronic music, passing anthropomorphic and waxy zoomorphic figures, and camera movements. When the author establishes the landscape, she places a wrestler and a drowning woman in it, and with these scenes she further increases the suspension. At the height of the dramaturgy, the set stage collapses. The waxen guard dogs dissolve and the soldiers retreat. Naked female characters appear, announcing the transition to a period of warmth and peace, accompanied by softer music.

The largest Slovenian rock festival, which took place from 6th to 8th July 2001 at Precna Airport in Novo mesto, Slovenia.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, much changed in Yugoslavia, that is now ex-Yugoslavia; a post industrial, post modern, post national, post colonial, post structural society, that can be perhaps summarized in the concept of post socialism? The disintegration of the concept of ideology means that notions are no longer clear. Because we think that we are outside an ideological context, but perhaps we ourselves are the centre of the ideology. It is this idea that corresponds with the thoughts about post socialism in the nineties, and probably the post ideological society of late capitalism as well. The end of the ideological period then perhaps seems imminent. These thoughts are considered in this philosophical media reflection, based on documentary fragments, statements by Peter Weibel and Slavoj Zizek and the works of three artists: Mladen Stilinovic (Zagreb), "Kasimir Malevich" (pseudonym, Belgrade) and IRWIN (Ljubljana).

TV film about the legendary Ljubljana bar Šumi.

A documentary film about the Slovenian filmmaker Boštjan Hladnik.

Video work tells a story of an art collector as remembered by herself in her old age, and as narrated by her friend, a psychoanalyst. Through this narrative the authors deal with the spirit of avant-garde art in the first half of the 20th century. By layering black and white and color images and sounds the work creates a deep and lively emotional space.

The video starts with a graphic sign from which emerge images, and this procedure points to the fact that any documentary is but an artefact. The narrator searches through documents and reconstructs the life of Lela: in the Middle Ages she was accused of witchcraft; in the 20th century she finds herself in the midst of war, in the future she will leave the planet. Lela's individual destiny is being inscribed into the fate of humanity by means of layering the image; only television shots of the war in former Yugoslavia are presented 'in one layer', clean. The television image has become the only document, the war - the only certainty. Autobus discloses two images of the electronic picture: the one that creates reality, and the other that creates artefacts.

This video dance project is a sort of condensed poetical and cynical look on the situation in the ex-Yugoslav territory. Hysterical and hectic dance movements are put in juxtaposition with surrealistic artificially constructed imageries, based on Magritte's paintings and documentary shoots of the refugee camps, where Bosnian refugees lived in Ljubljana.

A compilation of the Borghesia video clips (So Young, The Wild Bunch, He, Too Much Tension, Cindy, A.R., ZMR), issued in 1985 as the first video cassette by the FV Label. These are short, almost 'film-like' stories focused primarily on the iconography of the body in urban surroundings. One of the clips presents a pioneer use of computer graphics.

An emotionally shattering portrait of the unfulfilled childhood of Anatolij Rizov, a boy caught in between the post-catastrophe condition of his home town Chernobyl and the state of siege in Slovenia during its brief war for independence, where Anatolij is spending summer holidays.