Documentary about Post War Atrocities Wins Vesna for Best Film

Portoroz, 14 October

A documentary about the children of victims of post-WWII killings has won the award for best film at the 10th Festival of Slovenian Film, while most other major awards, including the audience's, will go to a novel-based feature depicting a love story in a small town.

The international panel of judges was the most impressed by Miran Zupanic's "Otroci s Petricka" (Children from Petricek Hill), while the audience preferred "Petelinji zajtrk" (Cock Breakfast), based on the novel by Feri Lainscek, reporters were told ahead of the award ceremony on Sunday evening. The director of the feature, Marko Nabersnik, also won the Vesna Award for best direction and best story, while Vlado Novak bagged Vesna Award for best actor for his portrayal of a garage owner fantasising about Severina, the Croatian pop singer, who also appears in the feature.
Vesna for best actress went to Silva Cusin for the leading female role in "Estrellita", Metod Pevec's drama about the violin that brings together two families from completely different backgrounds.
Entertainment magazine Stop meanwhile opted for Pia Zemljic, for her part in "Petelinji zajtrk", where she portrays Bronja, a young wife and mother in a parochial little town who is torn between her marriage and longing for real love.
The jury said that while the award winning film "Children from Petricek Hill" was not one that would afford the viewer's pleasure, it depicted the extraordinary cruel events with utmost sensitivity, concern for detail and respect for the victims.
The only documentary in the competition programme, the film portrays the fate of children who were detained at the Teharje camp near Celje together with their parents. They were then separated from their parents in June 1945 and taken to the children's camp Petricek, while their parents fell victims to summary killings by the Communists. The film then traces the lives of those children. The score for the film, composed by Bojana Saljic Podesva, won the Vesna Award for music, while Jaka Kovacic was awarded for editing the documentary.
Among the 17 Vesna Awards, the one for best short film went to Janez Burger for "Na sončni strani Alp" (On the Sunny Side of the Alps). The best supporting actor is Sandi Krosl for his part in "Tea", a film by Hanna Slak, while author and comedian Desa Muck was awarded for her part in "Instalacija ljubezni" (Love Installation).
The critic's choice award goes to "Tea" by Hanna Slak, while the Metod Badjura Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred on Mirjana Borcic, a film pedagogue.

Documentary about Post War Atrocities Wins Vesna for Best Film

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