Wide has come on board to represent international sales on Slovenian-Australian writer/director Sara Kern’s debut feature “Moja Vesna,” which premieres in the Generation Kplus section at the Berlin Film Festival.
“Moja Vesna” stars newcomer Loti Kovačič as Moja, a 10-year-old girl who lives with her grief-stricken Slovenian dad and pregnant 20-year-old sister Vesna in an outer suburb of Melbourne. Unable to accept the reality of her mother’s sudden death, Moja focuses on preparing for the baby while Vesna is lost in troubles of her own.
Adamant and full of light, Moja carries on, hoping in vain that Vesna will eventually fill the mother-shaped hole in her life. But Vesna pushes Moja to accept that their mother has in fact died, which causes the relationship between the sisters to strain. As the birth draws closer the grieving family continues to fragment. After meeting Miranda and her quirky daughter Danger, a family very different to her own, Moja’s world begins to open up.
“We fell in love with this poetic and deeply moving family story. Sara Kern is a major talent revelation and we look forward to introducing ‘Moja Vesna’ to our buyers in Berlin,” said Maxime Montagne, head of acquisitions at Wide.
“Moja Vesna” is a co-production between Slovenia and Australia, produced by Gal Greenspan from Sweetshop & Green Productions, Rok Bicek from Cvinger Film, and Sharlene George of Sweetshop & Green in Australia. The co-producer is Katy Roberts.
The film received major production investment from Screen Australia and Slovenian Film Centre, as well as support from Melbourne International Film Festival’s MIFF Premiere Fund, Film Victoria, Radio Television Slovenija (RTV SLO) and The Government’s Office for Slovenians Abroad.
Kern was previously selected for Toronto Film Festival Talent Lab (2017), Torino Script Lab (2018) and Cannes’ Cinéfondation Residence (2018) where she developed her debut feature.
Wide will also premiere in the European Film Market the coming-of-age movie “Balaban,” Aysulu Onaran’s feature debut about two Kazakh teenagers embarking on a journey of liberation as they steal a prized falcon to help fund their dream of moving to Paris.
