Golden Bear winner, Romanian director Radu Jude returns in Berlinale’s 2025 Competition with his new feature film Kontinental `25, while Serbian Golden Bear winner Želimir Žilnik returns to the festival with his Serbian/Slovenian coproduction Eighty Plus. In Žilnik’s hilarious docu-fiction, post-socialist restitution returns his childhood home to Serbian jazz musician Stevan.
Described by its director as “an independent low-budget film made quickly and well”, Kontinental `25 follows a bailiff, who goes into a moral crisis after evicting a homeless man from a cellar in the Romanian town of Cluj-Napoca. The film, shot with an iPhone 15 and minimal equipment, is a coproduction between Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, UK, and Luxembourg. It is also Jude’s first feature film not produced by Ada Solomon. Kontinental `25 has been acquired by Luxbox.
Želimir Žilnik and Tanja Šljivar wrote the script for Eighty Plus, and the cast includes: Milan Kovačević, Milivoj Kiždobranski, Vera Hrćan Ostojić, Mirjana Gardinovački, Lidija Stevanović, Radoje Čupić, Nina Stamenković, Katharina Gualtieri and Bojan Jović.
Sarita Milivojević Žilnik produced the film through Serbia’s Playground produkcija in coproduction with Želimir Žilnik through Serbia’s Žilnik produkcija, and Miha Černec and Jožko Rutar through Slovenia’s Tramal Films and Staragara, respectively. Siniša Bokan is associate producer.
The production of Eighty Plus was supported by Film Center Serbia, the Slovenian Film Centre, Creative Europe MEDIA and Chrysallis Fellowship. US-based sales agent EXPOBLVD LLC will handle the sales.
After six decades living in Germany, elderly jazz pianist Stevan returns home to Serbia. Concluding a lengthy legal process, the government confirms that he can inherit the neglected mansion previously bequeathed to him by his parents. A series of encounters and reunions then opens an unexpected new chapter in Stevan’s life.
Also, the stop motion animated film Tales from the Magic Garden directed by David Súkup (Czech Republic), Patrik Pašš (Slovakia), Leon Vidmar (Slovenia) and Jean-Claude Rozec (France), will premiere in the Generation Kplus section. This coproduction between Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and France has already been acquired by New Europe Film Sales.
The debut film by Urška Djukić’s, Slovenian/Italian/Croatian/Serbian Little Trouble Girls, has been selected for the Perspektives competition.
K. Gjozev