FEB 27, 2023 (updated)
Our alumni Urška Djukić has been successfully creating films for many years (Dober tek, Življenje [2016], Lovka [2019], Ena in edina [2019]), with which she performed at many festivals and received many awards. But she impressed again with the latest animated documentary GRANNY’S SEXUAL LIFE (Studio Virc/IKKI FILMS, 2021)!
The film GRANNY’S SEXUAL LIFE takes us on a short trip into the history of the rural grandmother’s intimate life, which summarizes attitudes towards women during the first half of the 20th century when, under the strict teachings of the church and the conventions of society as a whole, they were regarded as objects intended solely to satisfy the sexual desires of their husbands. The director drew her inspiration from the testimonies of real women presented in Milena Miklavčič’s book, “Ogenj, rit in kače niso za igrače”. The script for the film was co-written by the director (who also edited the film) and Maria Bohr. The voices were performed by Doroteja Nadrah, Jure Henigman, Mara Vilar, Božena Zabret and Bojana Ciglič, and the music was composed by Tomaž Grom.
The film’s successful journey began shortly after its creation, when it first received a special achievement award at the 24th Slovenian Film Festival last year, and soon after, the audience award at the 18th Animateka. Among the many awards that the film subsequently received, the victory at the 52nd festival in Tempera, Finland, was extremely important. This award was a direct nomination for a wider circle of American Oscar nominees.
Then came the wonderful news from the 35th edition of the European Film Academy – the film was nominated for the European Film Award. A total of five short films were nominated for the award, which were selected from among 29 candidates. But it didn’t stop there, 10.12. another exciting news has arrived – the movie GRANNY’S SEXUAL LIFE has become the best European short film of 2022! With this, Urška Djukić became the first Slovenian filmmaker to receive this flattering award!
“This award is a gift to all the women whose voices have been unheard, rejected and distorted throughout history. If I may paraphrase the words of actress Vicky Krieps; now is the time for women to heal all the wounds from the past, express themselves clearly, and be heard and appreciated in society. And that is the only way women and men will be able to build a better future together,” said Urška Djukić upon receiving the award.
See what kind of company Urška and her film found themselves in: https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/winners-european-film-awards-2022
Then came the news that the film was nominated for the French National César Award, which it then won – for the best short animated film – on February 24th! Along the way, the film also managed to acquire successful and influential French organizations (as distributors and co-producers), such as CNC – Fonds Sud, Arte – Association relative à la télévision européenne, IKKI Films and Ciclic – Center Val de Loire. The co-director and animator of the film, Émilie Pigeard, is also French, as already mentioned.
