23-01-2020

Slovenia Launches National Film Database

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    LJUBLJANA: The Slovenian Film Centre announced the successful launch of the Slovenian internet film data base - BSF, an important step towards better national and worldwide overview of Slovenian film production, its history and heritage, statistics and actual production potential.

    BSF is a national online platform, that provides information on Slovenian filmography from its beginnings to the present, including all forms (from films to video clips), professional and amateur film production, commercial and experimental projects. In addition, it provides access to photographic, written and video materials relevant to understanding the wider cultural and historical context of the national filmmaking.

    The platform is produced by Filmoteka, an NGO founded by professional filmmakers, restorers and archivists, with the main support of the Slovenian Film Centre. Lev Predan Kowarski, the head of the BSF project, said that in its test run the database has attracted more than 5,500 visitors, who have watched the films 1,175 times since November 2019. Since then, the team have added data for over 200 new film titles and provided 167 web application updates.

    The interest of the audience in domestic films increased in 2019. According to Nataša Bučar, the managing director of the Slovenian Film Centre, cinema admissions to Slovenian films are estimated at around 160,000 in 2019, which is 20% more than in 2018, when admissions were 144,173, and represents a 7% share of the total cinema admissions.

    In order to improve the visibility of domestic films, Kolosej, the only multiplex which operates in Ljubljana and generates the main share of the total cinema box office, will run daily screenings of Slovenian films starting 6 February 2020.

    The 23rd Festival of Slovenian Film has been moved forward to autumn and will run from 13 to 18 October 2020 in Portorož.