''Slovenian Girl'' ( sl, Slovenka; released in the United States as ''A Call Girl'') is a 2009

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by

Damjan Kozole Damjan Kozole (born 1964 in Brežice, Slovenia) is a Slovenian filmmaker whose directing credits include the 2003 critically acclaimed ''Spare Parts'' and 2009 worldwide released '' Slovenian Girl'', among others. ''Spare parts'' was nominated for ...

. It stars Nina Ivanišin as Aleksandra, a 23-year-old Slovenian who leads a double life as a respectable student and a

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

. The film premiered at the 2009

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internation ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

before being released theatrically in more than 30 countries, including the United States. According to Shaz Bennett of '' Moving Pictures'', "the film is ultimately a fascinating study of

free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ...

in free fall. In this mesmerizing

chamber piece Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

, director Damjan Kozole has contrived a new style of narrative to convey a view of capitalist culture at once outrageous and non-judgmental."

Premise

Set in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia, in 2008, during the Slovenian presidency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, Aleksandra is a 23-year-old English-language student who comes from a small town. Her parents are divorced and she hardly sees her mother. Neither her friends nor her family knows that Aleksandra runs personal ads under the nickname ''Slovenka'' ("Slovenian girl"), and that prostitution is her secret source of income. Aleksandra is very good at manipulating others (including her father and ex-boyfriend); she is an accomplished liar, and also a bit of a thief. She resents her mother and regards her as being selfish. Her ambition is to escape the banality of her hometown and settle in the big city in style, which necessitates her lucrative clandestine job. But that occupation leads her to a confrontation with dangerous local criminals, and suddenly she must live in fear as she struggles to maintain her income.

Cast

* Nina Ivanišin as Aleksandra * Peter Musevski as Edo

Festivals

The film was screened at more than 70 international film festivals including

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, London Raindance, Montreal, Pusan, Warsaw, Valencia, São Paulo, Cairo, Thessaloniki,

Les Arcs Les Arcs () is a ski resort located in Savoie, France, in the Tarentaise Valley town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino, it is a part of the huge Paradiski system which is under ownership by Compagnie des A ...

, Palm Springs,

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Rotterdam International Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

, Chicago, New York, Edinburgh, Jerusalem, Cinessonne Paris.

Critical reception

Alissa Simon of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' referred to the title character as "one of the most coolly calculating

antiheroine An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

s to grace the silver screen." '' Daily Film Dose'' says the film "is a resolutely grim, haunting, beautifully crafted and powerfully acted story of a young woman. This is a heart-breaking movie." For '' Film Monthly'', "a ''Call Girl'' is an exciting movie to experience because it is a film that seems to value character over plot, and substance over style. With a elegantly written script that creates real three-dimensional characters, and a sparse aesthetic style, director Damjan Kozole's affecting character study creates a distinctive mood that is hard to shake off.” The French newspaper ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'' says, "lie by lie, the heroine is becoming more appealing, thanks to the incredible performance of Nina Ivanišin. It is she who carries the film, and thanks to her the film is a 'must see.'" According to '' Moving Pictures Magazine'', "''Slovenian Girl'' is a haunting meditation on capitalism and the world's oldest profession", while Mike Goodridge in ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' says "it's a clever metaphor for the dubious values of capitalism and personal gain which have spread fast through the new Europe."

Awards

* Grand Prix - Best film at the 2012

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

Film Festival, Spain * Best director Award at the 2012 Girona Film Festival, Spain * Best screenplay Award at the 2012 Girona Film Festival, Spain * Best actress Award at the 2012 Girona Film Festival, Spain *

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soci ...

, in selection for the best European film 2010 * Prix du Public at the 2010 Festival du cinéma européen in

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Spain * Best actress Award at the 2009 Les Arcs European Film Festival, France

References

External links

*
''Variety''

''SBCC Film Reviews''

''Screen Daily''

''Rotterdam International Film Festival''

''Le Figaro''

''Film Movement''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slovenian Girl 2009 films 2009 drama films Bosnia and Herzegovina drama films Croatian drama films German drama films Films about prostitution Films set in Ljubljana Films shot in Slovenia Serbian drama films Slovenian drama films Slovene-language films English-language Bosnian films English-language Croatian films English-language German films English-language Serbian films English-language Slovenian films 2000s German films