Slovenia’s nominee for the 2018 Foreign Language Oscar Award. The feature film recently picked up three Vesna Awards.

Miner was produced by Nukleus Film and co-produced by RTV Slovenia. It bagged three Vesna Awards at the 20th Slovenian Film Festival in Portorož: Hanna Slak picked up the Best Director award, Leon Lučev nabbed the Best Male Lead award, and Hanna Slak and Vladimir Gojun won the Best Editing award.

Based on a true story
The 100-minute movie was inspired by events in the life of Mehmedalija Alić, a miner from the Central Sava Valley. The movie is an adaptation of Alić’s autobiography, Nihče (Nobody), which recounts the story of a miner fighting for a decent burial of the victims of post-WWII summary killings. In 2014, Alić received an award from President Bortut Pahor for helping to recover the remains of the victims of the Barbara Pit massacre.

A convincing portrayal of the protagonists
The jury that submitted the movie for nomination at the 2018 Academy Awards said that the characters are distinct and identifiable. Leon Lučev’s acting is outstanding and multi-layered, and the film takes us through his personal journey of becoming an enemy of the system. Ali (Leon Lučev) is determined to fight to the bitter end – even in the face of danger and death. Ali’s wife, played in the movie by Marina Redžepović, is also a character who strikes a chord with the viewers, even though she’s not a person of many words. The movie also stars Zala Đurić Ribič, Tin Marn, Boris Cavazza, Nikolaj Burger, Jure Henigman, and Boris Petkovič.

P. G.; translated by D. V.