Film producers

International co-production

In order to qualify for public funding for an international co-production from the Slovene Film Fund, participation by a Slovene producer is compulsory. Financial support is granted in the form of public aid, but if the film is co-financed by the Slovene Film Fund some funds must be returned under an agreement to share income from film distribution. Public aid is limited to 80 per cent of a film’s budget. Co-productions by Slovene and foreign entities are regulated by the Regulations on Criteria for Selecting and Co-Funding National Film and Video Projects (ratified by the Slovene Film Fund), according to which only a producer based in Slovenia can propose the co-financing of an international co-production project. Foreign producers must find a Slovene producer who will apply for co-funding from the Slovene Film Fund. Co-productions by Slovene and foreign producers are eligible for Slovene funding where the Slovene partner contributes at least 30 per cent of funding, or the same share in artistic or technical/logistic terms. A Council of Europe agreement on multilateral co-productions allows Slovene producers to apply for government support offered by other European countries, providing they meet the necessary criteria. Shooting in public places is regulated by the Decree on Special and Subordinated Use of Public Places (Official Gazette Nos 90-94). Since its establishment in 1994, the Slovene Film Fund has supported all films produced in Slovenia, and represents the main source of financing for Slovene film producers. Slovene producers can also obtain additional funds from the public broadcasting company Radio-Television Slovenia (RTV Slovenia). Slovenia has been a member of the European film fund Eurimages since 2000, and European co-productions are more and more common way of production. In 2004 mediadesk.si was created, distributing information and providing assistance for the EU Media funding programmes.

Because of its ideal position at the heart of Europe and the great diversity of its landscape, Slovenia is well suited to developing co-productions with foreign countries. Some of its most successful collaborations include Quand vient I’amour (Maurice Cloche) with France in 1955 and La grande strada azzura (Gillo Pontecorvo) with Italy in 1957. Slovenia’s main partners were and have remained Italy, Austria, Germany, Croatia, Hungary and France.

The Oscar-winning No Man's Land (2001) by Bosnian producer and director Danis Tanović was co-produced by Studio Maj and Casablanca Productions. The black comedy Dobro uštimani mrtveci ('Well-Prepared Dead Bodies’) by director and writer Benjamin Filipović was co-produced by the same Slovene partners and by ASAP Films from Paris, Sintra Film from Rome, Cinemark from Paris, and Flash Production from Sarajevo. In 2004 Srdjan Vuletić’s Summer in the Golden Valley, co-produced by Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, England and Slovenia, received the prestigious Golden Tiger Award at the 33rd International Festival in Rotterdam. E-motion Film/Vertigo has also recently launched many important international projects. How I Killed a Saint by director Teona S Mitevska received the Crossing Europe Award at the Linz International Film Festival in 2004. The film was created in international co-production involving Emotionfilm and RTV Slovenia and involved a significant Slovene creative and technological contribution. In 2004 Red Coloured Grey Truck, a co-production involving Serbia and Montenegro, Germany and Slovenia, won the Audience Award Midi Libre at the Mannheim Heidelberg International Film Festival 2004 and was also successful at the 26th International Mediterranean Film Festival in Montpellier. Aleksandra Balmazović, an actress from Slovenia, plays the leading role directed by a Sarajevo-born Belgrader Srdjan Koljević. In 2005 the film about 'love across barricades' won a total of 24 awards.

The Slovene motion picture industry regularly presents and received awards at various international film festivals, including the Berlin Film Festival and the Austrian National Film Festival in Graz. Classical retrospectives of Slovene film have also taken place in Barcelona, New York, Rome, Stockholm and Cannes. In 2006 the Slovene Film Fund organised presentations of Slovene film in Bradford, Katowice, Budapest, Siena, Helsinki and Milano.