The year 2025 was exceptional for the School of Arts. Our students, alumni, and professors achieved successes that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. Their accomplishments reflect remarkable talent, dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Since academic years span two calendar years, while festivals, exhibitions, and other distribution events are organized according to the calendar year, this article presents our outstanding work from last year as achievements that have also continued into the beginning of the current year.
The process from idea to realization—whether in film, photography, or any other artistic work—is always extremely demanding and time-consuming, which makes the recognition received from both the professional community and the wider public especially meaningful. Their efforts were rewarded the moment their work became visible to a broader audience and publicly recognized. In this article, we aim to bring together all these achievements in one place and reflect on a year that will remain in our memory for a long time.
FILMS
We achieved remarkable success at the selection of the best European films of 2025, where our alumna and several mentors from the School of Arts played a key role. In January, the 38th European Film Awards were held in Berlin. Among the nominees were three Slovenian films—a first in the history of Slovenian cinema. The feature film Kaj ti je deklica, directed and written by alumna Urška Djukić and produced by Jožko Rutar, a collaborator of the School of Arts at UNG, was nominated in the European Discovery category for the FIPRESCI award. Link to the TV feature – here.
The animated feature film Zgodbe iz čarobnega vrta, in which Slovenians Leon Vidmar (director), Kaja Balog (screenwriter), and Kolja Saksida (producer) were key contributors, was also shortlisted among the nominated works. The European Award for Best Documentary went to the minority Slovenian co-production Fiume o Morte!, by Croatian director Igor Bezinović, with Gregor Božič serving as director of photography. Link to the TV feature – here.
At the 76th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) 2026, young director and animator Leo Černic had his professional debut, the animated film Kozmonavti, selected for the short film competition. The film was chosen at the festival as one of the candidates for the European Film Academy Award for Best Short Film, presented by the European Film Academy as part of the European Film Awards initiative. The debut was co-produced with the involvement of our mentors Tina Smrekar and Jožko Rutar from the School of Arts. Link to the article – here.
We also achieved a significant milestone at the 37th Trieste Film Festival 2026, where student Vanja Miloš Jovanović had his graduation live-action film Temno Brdo directly selected for the short film competition, among fourteen European works. The Trieste Film Festival is the largest and most important Italian event showcasing Central and Eastern European cinema, making this selection particularly meaningful for us. As part of the festival’s traditional retrospective of women filmmakers, Wild Roses, dedicated to European directors, Slovenian filmmakers were included in this year’s program. We are pleased that, in collaboration with the Slovenian Film Centre, the festival featured the feature films of our alumnae: Kaj ti je deklica, the debut of Urška Djukić, and Ida, ki je pela tako grdo, da so še mrtvi vstali od mrtvih in zapeli z njo, the debut of Ester Ivakič. In the children’s and youth program, the animated feature film Zgodbe iz čarobnega vrta was presented, with direction, screenplay, and production by the previously mentioned mentors. Among the short animated films, the festival also showcased Babičino seksualno življenje by alumna Urška Djukić, Hobotnica banana mišmaš by mentor Milanka Fabjančič, Tri tičice by mentor Zarja Menart, and Onkraj obraza by alumna Anja Resman. Link to the TV feature – here.
At the 28th edition of the Festival slovenskega filma 2025, no fewer than 12 projects by students from the School of Arts were selected for the program. The biggest success went to our student Melita Sandrin, whose short graduation film Arahnofobija won the Vesna for Best Student Film. The Vesna for Best Feature Film was awarded to Kaj ti je deklica, directed by alumna Urška Djukić; the Vesna for Best Animated Film went to Zgodbe iz čarobnega vrta; and Kaja Balog received the Vesna for Best Screenplay. It was one of the most successful FSF editions ever for the School of Arts!
In 2025, our films were selected for a total of 80 festival screenings across 20 countries, including Slovenia, Austria, Italy, France, the USA, Russia, Belarus, North Macedonia, Hong Kong, Greece, Germany, Taiwan, Albania, Morocco, Iran, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Lithuania, and Brazil.
We received 14 awards, special mentions, and selections in prominent festival programs:
Onkraj obraza (Anja Resman) – selected for the student program at the 64th Zlinfest (Czech Republic); Arahnofobija (Melita Sandrin) – Annecy IFF (selection in the student competition), Flipbook FF (special jury mention), FSF (selection in the student competition), FSF (Vesna for Best Student Film 2025), 18th Animateka (graduation film); Animated film Suhci (Jan Svenšek, 2024) – 100-seconds IFF, Iran (also won Best Animation); Frantz (Natalia Polonskaia) – 3rd Cine Minhocao, Brazil (special jury mention)
Arahnofobija by Melita Sandrin was selected for 32 festivals, including the world’s most prestigious animation event, the 65th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Other notable selections include the 23rd London International Animation Festival, the 48th Denver Film Festival, the 41st Interfilm Festival Berlin, the 11th Manchester Animation Festival, and the 28th Festival slovenskega filma. The film also received the national award from the Slovenian Animated Film Association for Best Completed Student Animated Film.
The DSAF Award for a student animated project in development was also received by our Master’s student in Animation, Karin Likar, for her work Kava, znoj in cigarete. Alumna Anja Paternoster received special mentions in both student categories for her animated films Do you know where the Birds live and Love me not.
At this year’s 21st Animateka, three of our students’ films were selected for the Student Competition Young Talents of Europe: Arahnofobija by Melita Sandrin, Dekonstrukcija by Neda Ivanović, and Stop! by graduate Brina Fekonja. Additionally, the film Ženski klub by Anđelina Petrović was featured in the Student Panorama program.
RAZSTAVE IN UMETNIŠKI PROJEKTI
For the fifth consecutive year, we were the only educational institution from Slovenia invited to the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, one of the world’s most important festivals at the intersection of art, technology, and society. Among 37 selected universities, we presented our own exhibition Slow down. Breathe. Feel. Think. Act! at the Postcity space, featuring five projects created by 28 of our students. Link to the media article – here.
We also showcased our creative work at the 26th International Festival of Contemporary Artistic Practices, Pixxelpoint. This year’s exhibition was produced by the Nova Gorica Cultural Center, supported by the GO!2025 project, and realized in collaboration with the School of Arts. The curatorial team was led by our New Media mentor Peter Purg. Last year, the Pixxelpoint student exhibition was presented for the first time in Rijeka, at the VBZ Gallery, where our Contemporary Media student Gašper Rebernik participated as co-curator.
We also participated with a student AV exhibition at the 21st Kino Otok International Film Festival. At the Salvaverde Gallery, we presented video essays and works created in the course Space and Time, while three of our short films were screened in the Video on the Beach program.
For the second year in a row, we exhibited at the Obrat Gallery in Maribor, while Master’s student Martin Peca presented a solo photography exhibition at the JSKD OI Koper premises.
In the year when Nova Gorica held the title of European Capital of Culture 2025 and the University of Nova Gorica celebrated its 30th anniversary, we presented, for the first time, a solo exhibition We Are Here at the Mestna Galerija Nova Gorica, organized under the auspices of the Nova Gorica Cultural Center. The exhibition featured a selection of installations, photographs, and set designs for animated films. The curator of the exhibition was Prof. Rene Rusjan. Link to the TV feature – here.
As part of the international project KAKI – Tree of Life, included in the official program of the European Capital of Culture 2025, we commemorated the symbolic planting of a tree in October, which survived the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. The central event was attended by artist Tatsuo Miyajima and pianist Alexander Gadjiev. Link to the TV feature – here.
Last year, the School of Arts opened new production facilities as part of the semester exhibition, funded by the University of Nova Gorica. The new spaces include an FV studio, ateliers, and a screening hall. Link to the TV feature – here.
As part of the GO!Studio project, funded by SPF, we equipped the new facilities with state-of-the-art technology and hosted several film and animation workshops, including sessions with Želimir Žilnik, Gregor Božič, Juan Pablo Zaramello, Paul Wenninger, and most recently, Jan Cvitkovič.
The 2026 Jožko Markič Award for active and talented creators in the Goriška region (for achievements in 2025) was awarded to Brina Fekonja (Master’s student) and Vukašin Panić (Bachelor’s student).
The year 2025 was not only a year of outstanding achievements but also a year of affirmation, showing that together with our students, professors, and support team, the School of Arts has created a space where ideas could grow, develop, and reach an international audience.