23-01-2008

Roosters Breakfast tops 140,000 admissions

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    The director of Rooster's Breakfast, the biggest Slovenian box office hit in the last four years, says he's surprised by the film's success. Director Marko Nabersnik picked up the Great Golden Roll Award on Jan. 15 after surpassing the 125,000 admission mark.

    Rooster's Breakfast, Nabersnik's first full-length feature, is the second most popular Slovenian film ever, according to the Slovenian government website. It has also received four Golden Roll Awards, given to Slovenian films that sell over 25,000 tickets, since being released on Oct. 17.

    Following the success of Rooster's Breakfast, Nabersnik and writer Feri Lainscek are already in talks for a new movie based on Lainscek's latest novel, "The Untouchables: The Myth of the Gypsies," which traces the story of four generations of Balkan Romas.

    Nabersnik said he believes screenplay is the key to a film's success. He believes that the stereotype that Slovenian films are not for mass viewing has been challenged by the popularity of Rooster's Breakfast, Outsider, Granma Goes South, Last Supper, Desperado Tonic, Fuckit and Porn Movie.

    Rooster's Breakfast was the biggest hit in Slovenian cinemas in 2007 with 126,275 viewers, outselling the Hollywood blockbusters Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Mr. Bean's Holiday, the only other films to sell over 100,000 tickets. The film has now been viewed by 142,270 moviegoers, said Tjasa Smrekar, spokeswoman for the cinema operator Kolosej.

    Set in the late 1990s, the film is a social drama that traces the story of Gajas, a car mechanic, and Djuro, his apprentice, the former fantasizing about Croatian pop star Severina and the latter embarking on a risky love affair with a local beauty.