Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe)

[Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe) was launched in 1989 as the Film Art Festival Ljubljana. The festival is organised by Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre, Film Programme, but films are also screened at Slovenian Cinematheque, Kinodvor Cinema and Kinoklub Vič.

The main purpose of the festival is to familiarise audiences with non-Hollywood films which are not usually screened in commercial Slovene cinemas, since the art cinema distribution network in Slovenia has only developed very recently. At present the Festival comprises the following sections: Perspectives - the official competitive section of the festival, which presents the work of first- or second-time directors (in competition for the Kingfisher Award); Avant premieres - which screens major European and other films by established directors; Horizons - presenting an overview of recent international blockbusters by renowned film directors which are however better suited for festivals and the art cinema network than for regular cinematic viewing (in competition for the Golden Reel Award); Documentaries - offering an overview of contemporary documentary films which explore thorny issues; Extravaganza - which introduces artists of idiosyncratic film aesthetics and forms that are not part of the obvious category of feature films; Tribute - a homage to one of the leading lights of cinema; Against the Wind - a focus on a set of authors who have cultivated their own film poetics and are recognised by their special approach to film language in defiance of prevailing trends; Selection of Short Films - presenting a selection from the programme of the European Co-ordination of Film Festivals (ECFF); and South by Southeast - presenting an overview of the cinematic production of the Balkans.

Numerous awards are presented at the Festival. The Golden Reel Award is awarded to the top film in the Horizons section, which presents new creations by acclaimed directors, while the Kingfisher Award is conferred annually on the director of the best film in Perspectives, the official competitive section for films by new directors. The LIFFe-FIPRESCI Award is presented by an international jury of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), and the LIFFe Amnesty International Award is bestowed on the best film with a human rights theme.

Ljubljana International Film Festival has been a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) since 1992. It is also a member of Europa Cinemas, the Association of European Film Exhibitors, Paris ECFF, the European Co-ordination of Film Festivals (ECFF), Brussels and the Motion Pictures Association, Brussels.

The 17th Ljubljana International Film Festival of 2006 featured as many as 100 films, with a turnout of an estimated 50,000 spectators. It closed with the screening of Marco Bellochio's latest film The Wedding Director (part of that year's Tribute section). Janine Euvrard, president of the three-member LIFFe-FIPRESCI Award jury, bestowed the LIFFe-FIPRESCI Award to the Hungarian drama White Palms, presented in the South by Southeast festival section. The LIFFe Amnesty International Award was bestowed on the Iranian film Offside, which told the story of Iranian female soccer fans denied access to the stadium. The film's director Jafar Panahi dedicated the award to the women's organisation White Scarfs, which fights for emancipation and dignity of Iranian women. The 2006 Golden Reel Award, bestowed by the audience on the best film of the Horizons section, was the Irish-British comedy Breakfast on Pluto, directed by Neil Jordan. The prestigious Kingfisher Award went to Annete K Olesen's Pingpong, the best film in the Perspectives section which told an exceptional story of interracial conflicts in the culturally-mixed democracies of modern Europe.

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Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe)

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