Eight Awards for 'Circus Fantasticus' at Slovenian Festival
Irish/Slovenian co-production CIRCUS FANTASTICUS, written and directed by Janez Burger, swept the boards picking up an impressive eight awards including Best Film and Best Director at its premiere at the Slovenian Film Festival which took place in Portorož from the 1st-3rd October.
CIRCUS FANTASTICUS tells the story of Stevo, who is left alone with his daughter Dunja and son Small and the dead body of their mother, when the war finishes. It seems that the worst is over, until a terrible rumble starts far away and draws ever closer. But the source of the noise is not a killing machine. It is the huge, brightly-painted vehicle of a travelling circus.
As they get to know the group of bizarre but utterly human characters of all ages who make up the troupe of clowns, trapeze artists, fire-eaters and freaks, hope and laughter return for Stevo and his children. Only days later, transformed by the heightened experience of circus life, they will leave their battered home and join the caravan for a new life on the road.
CIRCUS FANTASTICS is an international co-production between Morgan Bushe for Fastnet Films (Colony, The Runway) in Ireland and Staragara Productions in Slovenia and was co-financed by the IFB, Slovenian Film Fund, Finnish Film Foundation, MEDIA, YLE Television, Cinemania Group, Viba Film, Film i Vast and Eurimages.
The host of prizes awarded to CIRCUS FANTASTICUS includes Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Ravil Sultanov), Best Music (Drago Ivanuša), Best Sound (Robert Flanagan) and Best Make-Up (Alenka Nahtigal). The film also received the Best Feature film award from the Slovenian film critics jury and the Kodak Award for Best Cinematography.
The festival aims to celebrate Slovenian film while bringing together filmmakers, audiences and critics.