Slovenian Film Retrospective: The Box; Man With the Shadow

The Box (Celica)

Dušan Kastelic, Slovenia, 2017, DCP, colour, 12'50'', no dialogue

You have probably heard of the phrase "to think outside the box". This is a film about such a box and the flat-headed creatures that live in it. Life inside the Box is boring and miserable. Until one day a new baby boy starts growing in the middle of it! The boy is very different from the other flat-headed inhabitants of the Box – he is happy, lively and curious. As the boy grows bigger and bigger, his flat-headed neighbours become more and more annoyed with him. Until one day he grows literally over their heads.

Man With the Shadow (Človek s senco)

Ema Kugler, Slovenia, 2019, DCP, 2.39, colour, 100', English subtitles

The genetic code forces humans to reproduce. Newborns have no choice; as utterly powerless beings, they are groomed to submit to the social norms imposed by those in the position of power. The film’s artistic power and aesthetic sophistication lead the viewer to a spontaneous transformation in relation to ethics, society and the reception and understanding of art.