The striking statement by vintner Stojana Ščurka from the trailer for the long awaited documentary film Terra Magica two years ago was, for reasons unknown, not included in the end product, with the Ljubljana premiere held on Monday. Ščurek said he didn't know the reason for that, but that he still considered it true, and that, after all, "the film also shows that we have the best wines".

Terra Magica, the last product of the director, photographer, and cameraman Jure Breceljnik, is principally a tribute and homage to vintners from Brda through the eyes of a person who was not very familiar with wines and therefore approached the topic as an oenological layman, and obviously an impressed observer. He watched vintners for two years, and got to know their philosophy, and their love for the terroir of Brda, the »magical land« somewhere between the Alps and the Mediterranean.

Premiere also "in memoriam"
Unfortunately Breceljnik didn't live to see the premiere – he died unexpectedly in July last year, at the age of 42. He left behind his partner, the climber Natalija Gros, and their young daughter Ela, only a couple of months old. And of course an extensive opus together with the last documentary film, Terra Magica. "Jure instilled his infinite lust for life and his energy in everything he did. His spirit will remain alive through those films – including Terra Magica," said the production assistant Slaviša Majstorović at the Ljubljana premiere.

It was the fourth projection of the film which has been in the making since 2013 - the world premiere occurred in Brussels in November, and the Slovenian at two projections in Vila Vipolže in Brda, and the latest in Ljubljana Kinodvor.

Kaja Sajovic
Translated by G. K.