Following his experimental Arheo and his comedy Šiška DeLuxe, the Slovenian director and screenwriter makes a return to social issues with his latest work The Basics of Killing (Družinica). A social drama about the average Slovenian middle-class family and what happens when both parents, Marko and Dunja – played by Primož Vrhovec and Irena Kovačevič - lose their jobs. What follows is the financial and psychological break-up of the family. The tragic story faces the viewer with the painful experience, masterfully accompanied by Damir Avdić’s music and the photography of Marko Brdar.

"The film doesn’t describe the financial situation, but focuses on the relationships between the four members of the family, which change when the situation changes. Through the inner drama of each one of them at the end we reach the catharsis," said Cvitkovič, one of Slovenia’s most successful film directors abroad, who has already received more than 20 awards. "We’re going with pleasure, because we know that we have a good film and it will be interesting to present it in Canada," Cvitkovič said prior to his departure across the Atlantic about how he felt going to Montreal. Festival-goers were able to watch two screenings of the film. The first was on Sunday morning and the second on Monday evening.

There are eighteen films from fifteen countries in the competition program of the festival, which will run until the 4th of September. The Basics of Killing was co-financed by the Slovenian and Serbian film centres under the Perfo Production company. RTV Slovenija is the film’s co-producer. The Slovenian premiere of the film is scheduled for the 14th of September at the 20th Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorož.

K. T., Urban Tarman, Radio Slovenija; translated by K. J.