(Antigone – How Dare We!)
Jani Sever

Slovenia
2020, HD, col. & b-n / b-w, 87’
English – Slovenian – French – German o.v.

1) How did the relationship with Žižek begin and develop? Was his involvement and presence established from the beginning, or had you thought of a different kind of involvement before?
2) Why did you choose to represent Žižek’s text with alternating scenes of fiction and documentary?
3) Do you see your film as a contemporary critical testimony on social life in Europe, and particularly in Slovenia? How is the political scene evolving in your country?

Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Jani Sever, Stojan Pelko, Miloš Kalusek. Ispirato alla pièce teatrale / Based on motifs from the play Trojno življenje Antigone, etično-politična vaja di / by Slavoj Žižek. Fotografia / Photography: Mitja Ličen. Montaggio / Editing: Miloš Kalusek. Suono / Sound: Julij Zornik. Scenografia / Art Director: Lara Štefančič. Costumi / Costume Designer: Tina Kolenik. Interpreti / Cast: Anja Novak, Primož Bezjak, Matija Vastl, Žan Perko, Jure Henigman, Doroteja Nadrah, Matej Zemljič, Gregor Prah. Produzione / Produced by: Sever & Sever. Coproduzione / Co-produced by: RTV Slovenia. Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Slovenian Film Centre. Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: Taskovski Films.

ITALIAN PREMIERE

The classical heroine as a symbol of moral resistance against the malevolence of the State is significantly transformed in Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek’s conception. His polemic interpretation of the famous myth is interspersed with acted passages from the staging of his drama Trojno življenje Antigone, etično-politična vaja (l.t. The Triple Life of Antigone). In contrast to this, there are television recordings of political cataclysms. Against this backdrop, the director asks crucial questions about the essence of law and morals in the world of broken-down democracy.
Best documentary at the Festival of Slovenian Film in Ljubljana, the film was selected also at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in Czech Republic.

“When I started to work on film, the idea was to work on the parallels between Antigone and today’s public figures… The most difficult task was a choice of images that we are all familiar with but we associate them in different ways. In the end the film for me is not so much about Antigone, but more about the questions of our future.” (J. Sever)

Jani Sever
Historian, producer and director Jani Sever was born in 1963 and graduated from Ljubljana Faculty of Philosophy. He played in punk bands, published poetry and was editor-in-chief of the leading Slovene political weekly “Mladina”. In 2011 Sever founded the production company Sever & Sever.

filmografia scelta / selected filmography
2014 Bum Bum Bis (Boom Boom Bis) cm / sf 2015 Richard pride jutri doc cm / sf 2016 Izkljuceni (Status Zero) doc. 2018 Pero Lovšin – Ti lahko doc. 2020 Antigona – Kako si upamo!: Premi / Awards: Festival of Slovenian Film  – Miglior documentario, Miglior montaggio, Premio FIPRESCI / Best Documentary, Best Editing, FIPRESCI Award

Sever & Sever
Trubarjeva 21a
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
www.seversever.com

Taskovski Films
1st floor Healthaid House
Marlborough Hill
HA11UD Harrow
UK
www.taskovskifilms.com