On Tuesday, 20 October, CD Club hosted the press conference announcing the 26^th Ljubljana International Film Festival Liffe. The Director General of Cankarjev dom, Ms Uršula Cetinski, thanked the Ministry of Culture and the Festival’s main sponsor Telekom Slovenija, for their continued support. On behalf of Telekom Slovenija, Marketing Director Simon Furlan expressed his appreciation of the Ljubljana Film Festival and stressed its importance for the Slovenian audiences.

Festival Director Simon Popek presented an overview of this year’s festival, pausing to reflect on some cinematic highlights. The extravagant British director Peter Greenaway has made a cinematic comeback with Eisenstein in Guanajuato, a tribute to the great Soviet filmmaker. The Avant-premieres section will also feature Queen of the Desert by Werner Herzog starring Nicole Kidman in the role of adventurer Gertrude Bell, My Motherby Nanni Moretti is the director’s coming to terms with his mother’s illness. This year’s highlights also include Youth by Paolo Sorrentino and Francofonia by Alexander Sokurov, while Lobster by prominent European director Yorgos Lanthimos will be screened within the scope of the Kings and Queens section.

The festival’s competitive section, Perspectives, featured Family Film by Olmo Omerzu, Prague-based Slovenian director. Playing with the idea of alienation within a family unit, Family Film will be the 26^th Liffe opening-night film.

The Kings and Queens section features three films by Miguel Gomes, socially criticalworks focusing on brutal labour exploitation from the perspective of the eponymous Arabian Nights. The Kings and Queens section also includes the third sequel in the trilogy about the Grims, Ned Rifle, by Hal Hartley.Member of the so-called Sundance Generation,anAmerican independent film phenomenon, Hartley isfeatured in the Tribute section.

World Cinema Panorama presents films from various parts of the world, among which special focus is placed on Romania. Popek also drew our attention to The Lesson by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, a touching social drama about a primary-school teacher whose desperate situation compels her to make some difficult choices, and Mediterranea by Jonas Carpignano that tackles Europe’s ruthless immigration policy.

The Extravaganza section features Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead by Kiah Roache-Turner, road-movie-cum-zombie-film. The Forbidden Room,“this festival’s most unusual film”, is an expressive exploration of dream states, “an affected artistic vision” in the style of Freud’spsychoanalysis.

This year’s Retrospective section marks the centennial of the notable Technicolor process, which introduced the innovation of colour film.

The accompanying programme includes a rich variety of events – with particular emphasis on film education programme dedicated for Liffe’s youngest audiences.

Written by Andraž Jež

Photo Iztok Dimc

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