Film retrospectives are one way a national cinema can present itself comprehensively to foreign audiences. Slovenian Film Days follow this approach, emphasising contemporary Slovenian production, occasionally complemented by selected film classics. This is precisely where their particular value lies: Slovenian film reaches audiences not merely as a festival event, but as part of the regular cultural life of the cinemas and cities it visits. Such programmes address broader local audiences and regular cinemagoers, giving them the opportunity to discover Slovenian film for the first time.
Slovenian film has had such comprehensive presentations in the past from New York's Lincoln Centre in 2008 to Billy Wilder Theatre in Los Angeles in 2011, and the Lisbon Cinematheque in 2021. While the prevailing view at the turn of the millennium was that Slovenian film should be presented on all continents, over the past fifteen years, it has become clear that a consistent presence in neighbouring countries and in cities where it is possible to gradually build audiences for Slovenian film year after year, in partnership with local collaborators, is more important and productive.
This autumn, we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of Slovenian Film Days in Budapest, where the Toldi cinema has become a home for new Slovenian films. A consistent presence in neighbouring Hungary is also important because Slovenian film enters the local cultural space through regular programming and reaches audiences it might otherwise never encounter. The presence of the Slovenian national minority also plays a role here, serving as one of the bridges between film and the wider community. In Szombathely, home to Hungary's largest Slovenian minority, the 9th Slovenian Film Days will be held this year, featuring films previously presented in Budapest.
Presentations of Slovenian film in neighbouring countries are primarily intended to promote Slovenian cinema among local audiences, with Slovenian associations, cultural centres, and diplomatic missions serving as important partners in establishing contact with international audiences. It is precisely through such connections that Slovenian film can be integrated into regular cinema programmes and opened up to audiences beyond the festival framework. Alongside the long-standing collaboration with the Slovenian Society in Belgrade, where at least one Slovenian film classic has been presented each year over the past eleven years, partnerships with the Slovenian Society in Pula, Croatia, and the Slovenian Society in Sarajevo are also important. These partnerships matter not only because they connect with Slovenians abroad, but also because they enable the stable integration of Slovenian film into relevant local cinemas and cultural environments. The home of Slovenian films in Pula is Kino Valli, which also serves as the main venue of the Pula Film Festival, while in Sarajevo, it is Kino Meeting Point, likewise one of the central venues of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Larger countries such as Italy, France, and Germany can rely on the greater international visibility of their films and on an extensive network of cultural centers and offices around the world when promoting them, whereas Slovenia currently has such infrastructure only in Berlin and Vienna. This is why Slovenian Film Days also take place in Berlin, where Kino Sputnik, a small cinema with a dedicated and curious audience, has become their home. It is precisely such venues that allow Slovenian film to reach viewers who may not have known it before.
The most remarkable story, however, is Paris, also because there is no large Slovenian community there, nor a cultural center that could serve as a foothold. Yet this is the capital of the country that hosts the world's most important film festival, and a city where the most Slovenian films have had regular theatrical distribution. A city that must have Slovenian Film Days, which in France they simply call a festival. This is, of course, no simple undertaking, but in 2022, we finally succeeded in organising the first Slovenian Film Festival in Paris. We envisioned a biennial presentation, which ran somewhat behind schedule, so we held the 2nd Slovenian Film Festival only in 2025. The first time, our home was Les 7 Parnassiens cinema; the second time, L'Entrepôt cinema. Our main partner was the Embassy of Slovenia in Paris. Also invaluable was our publicist, without whom we could not have strengthened the visibility of Slovenian film among French journalists, critics, and audiences.
See you in Paris in 2027!
In addition to the regular Slovenian Film Days, this year we are also preparing two festival presentations of Slovenian women directors. The first one, at the Trieste Film Festival, is already behind us, and in November it will be followed by a presentation at the 13th Olhares do Mediterrâneo, Women's Film Festival in Lisbon.
