Opening of the Retrospective Oriente Vzhod / Occidente Zahod – Border in Film and History

31.03.2025

We warmly invite you to a full-day of film related program, marking the opening of the retrospective Oriente Vzhod / Occidente Zahod – The Border Through Film and History. The program will explore life in border regions, both past and present, through carefully selected film screenings, conversations with creators, a roundtable on the advantages of multicultural border spaces, a special film walk through Gorizia, and an evening opening, followed by the screening of both archival and contemporary short films.Kinoatelje will host the full-day event Oriente Vzhod / Occidente Zahod – The Border Through Film and History on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the House of Film / Kinemax Cinema in Gorizia (Piazza della Vittoria 41). This event is part of the official program for the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025.

The event emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism and shared historical memory, and invites a reflection on life in border regions through selected film screenings, conversations with creators, a roundtable on the advantages of multicultural border spaces, a special film walk through Gorizia, and the evening’s official opening, which will be followed by the screening of archival and contemporary short films.

Program for the Day:

The day begins in the morning with the screening of Zoran, moj nečak idiot (dir. Matteo Oleotto), one of the first Slovenian-Italian co-productions filmed locally. This will be followed by an intimate exploration of the lives of people living along the border with Zgodbe iz kostanjevih gozdov (dir. Gregor Božič) and the documentary essay Trenutek reke (dir. Anja Medved and Nadja Velušček). After each screening, there will be discussions with the creators.

For the guests of the retrospective, we have organized a special Film Walk through the Cinematic Heritage of Gorizia, and we would also like to highlight the Roundtable: Cultural Identity of Border Communities Yesterday and Today, with renowned guests from historical, journalistic, and cinematic circles, discussing the heritage of the past and life along the border today.

The day will conclude with the official opening of the retrospective Oriente Vzhod / Occidente Zahod – The Border Through Film and History. After the opening addresses, there will be a screening of short films that explore life along the border. The selection of archival and contemporary works will symbolically open up space for reflection on the past and present of border communities, inviting dialogue on the significance of borders.

For visitors from Ljubljana, we are organizing free bus transportation – the bus will depart at 10:30 from the parking lot in Tivoli Park. Registration is required.

Registration for the bus transport
Registration for the film walk

Program:

*All events will take place at Kinemax / House of Film, Piazza della Vittoria 41, Gorizia.

9:30
Zoran, moj nečak idiot (dir. Matteo Oleotto, 2013, 110’)
Followed by a conversation with the creators.

10:30
Departure of the bus to Gorizia* (Tivoli Bus Parking)
Passengers will be informed of details later.

13:00
Zgodbe iz kostanjevih gozdov (dir. Gregor Božič, 2019, 81’)
Conversation with director Gregor Božič.
or
Film Walk through the Cinematic Heritage of Gorizia (departure from the courtyard in front of Kinemax)
Register for the walk here.

15:00 – 16:00
☕ Socializing and refreshments

16:00
Trenutek reke (dir. Anja Medved, Nadja Velušček, 2010, 63’)
Followed by a conversation with the authors Anja Medved and Nadja Velušček.

17:30
Roundtable on the Cultural Identity of Border Communities Past and Present
The roundtable will address the themes of the retrospective and shed light on how the past and the multicultural nature of border regions are reflected in contemporary cultural, social, and political contexts.

Moderator: Donatello Fumarola, film critic, curator, producer
Guests: Marta Verginella, historian and publicist, Stefano Lusa, journalist and publicist, Sergio Toffetti, film critic and publicist, and Varja Močnik, director, film publicist, and curator of the retrospective.

19:30
Official Opening of the Retrospective
Opening remarks: Stojan Pelko, Program Director of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025, followed by a selection of archival and contemporary short films:

● Vojna besed ali spoštljiva tišina, Leo Černic, 2020, 2’
● Tujega nočemo, svojega ne damo, Mirko Grobler, SI (YU), 1947, 14’ / Italian subtitles
● Zaprosili OZN, naj se Trst vrne Italiji, 1948, 0’51’’ / Slovenian subtitles
● Trst in Italija, 1952, 2’ / Slovenian subtitles
● Vlak prijateljstva: ameriška pomoč za Italijo, 1948, 1’ / Slovenian subtitles
● Kje je železna zavesa?, Mako Sajko, 1961, 12’; DCP, Italian subtitles
● Kras, Franco Giraldi, 1960, 11’ / Slovenian subtitles
● Kras – pravljični svet, Matjaž Klopčič, 1974, 13’ / Slovenian subtitles
● Abesinija, Karpo Godina, 1999, 17’ Italian and Slovenian subtitles

21:00
Refreshments

22:00
Departure of the bus to Ljubljana* (Piazza della Vittoria – opposite the church of Sant’Ignazio)