Je suis Cinéphile
by Ana Sturm Where did I come from? Cineplexx.
Where am I? At Slovenian Cinematheque.
Where am I going? To Cinema Dvor, and I must hurry, because I don't want to miss the last showing.
Ana Sturm
I lost myself at the movies at the end of 2010. We organized International Student Film and Video Festival at our faculty. Filofest became the key college experience which changed my life. The festival was a bumpy ride – it slipped us a few Jeffrey's – but luckily we had our very own furry wall. Thanks, Russell Brand, for that life-saving idea!
Now I'm trying to find myself at the movies. I'm an event organiser, producer and programme coordinator for several film festivals and local institutions. I talk about movies. 4 women, 1 microphone, too many films, a shit-load of hormones is the tagline for the first Slovenian podcast about movies – FilmFlow. I also write about movies. My articles have been published in Slovenian magazines and in online festival journals. I write because I want to see and perceive better. I think about the world and about what it means to be human through movies. Critique is the last thing that completes every work of art. But, as Mark Cousins says: “Criticism isn’t just writing, of course. It can be an event, a place, a film, thinking, playing, defending or writing”. I like that broad way of thinking, especially because it gives you more options for action.
Why do we need more action? Public space, independence and variety are becoming rarer than green elephants. The world has become a global village and everybody is writing about the same things. Also, film is still a second rate art in our country. Undermined and poorly, unsystematically funded. There's a lack of education on all levels, and as a result, a lack of experts in many fields. Slovenia is a small county and we make about ten feature films a year, which nobody really knows or sees. I mean, Denmark is also a small county, but their projects are well-known. One could argue, that difficult circumstances can sometimes bring out creativity. I can't say that is not true. We do have some exceptional talents. But that kind of creativity is a one-time thing and it cannot endure. So the only things that can sustain our cinema for now are sheer love and passion. Therefore – I am a Cinéphile!
