The biggest Slovenian box office hit in the last four years and the second most popular Slovenian film ever, "Petelinji Zajtrk" (Rooster's Breakfast), received on Tuesday the Great Golden Roll Award for surpassing the 125,000-ticket milestone.
The first full-length feature by Marko Nabersnik has so far received four Golden Roll Awards, given to Slovenian films that sell over 25,000 tickets, since being released on 17 October and also picked up a number of awards at the Festival of Slovenian Film.
Receiving the award on behalf of the film crew, Nabersnik told the press that he was surprised by the numbers of people who have turned out to see the movie.
In his opinion, screenplay is the key to a film's success. He believes that the stereotype that Slovenian films are not for mass viewing have been surpassed by the likes of "Rooster's Breakfast, Outsider, Granma Goes South, Last Supper, Desperado Tonic, Fuckit and Porn Movie."
Rooster's Breakfast was the biggest hit in Slovenian cinemas in 2007 with 126,275 viewers, leaving behind Hollywood blockbusters "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" and "Mr. Bean's Holiday", the only other films to sell over 100,000 tickets.
Spokeswoman for the cinema operator Kolosej Tjasa Smrekar told the press at the event that the movie has now been viewed by 142,270 movie-goers.
The film, set in the late 1990s, is a social drama that traces the story of Gajas, a car mechanic, and Djuro, his his apprentice, the former fantasising about Croatian pop star Severina and the latter embarking on a risky love affair with a local beauty.
Following the success of "Rooster's Breakfast", Nabersnik and writer Feri Lainscek are already in talks for a new movie based on Lainscek's latest novel, "Nedotakljivi: Mit o Ciganih" (The Untouchables: The Myth of the Gypsies", which traces the story of four generations of Balkans Roma).
Lainscek has said that this would not be a classic adaptation of the novel for the big screen, instead the stories would serve only as a starting point for the film. "There is no doubt in my mind that the novel is good material for film," Lainscek said.
The writer does not believe, however, that a film could alter the distrustful and often hostile attitude to the Roma. "This is an illusion," he said, adding that he is more interested in the universal themes of freedom and love.
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