Theatre and film

Grossmann Festival

If you like goose pimples, visit Ljutomer in the summer, where a festival of fantastic, horrifying, wild, cult, and non-conventional films takes place, and spend some time socialising with the talented people who create these movies. You can fight the feeling of horror with some tasty wine from the Ljutomer area, and at the end of the festival, take part in a parade of zombies and various monsters.

Kino Otok Festival

Before the main tourist season begins, the fishing town of Izola invites you to spend some pleasant time on the coast. You will be astonished by the fusion of the energy of the sea with the images on the screen set up in Manzioli Square. In addition to watching films in a pleasant environment, the Kino Otok International Film Festival offers entertainment with DJs on the beach, and allows you to meet the film-makers. It also provides an educational programme, and various events for children.

Animateka

The Animateka Animated Film Festival is intended to promote animated documentary, feature-length, or children’s films from Eastern and Central Europe. It has been taking place every December since 2004, and its programme also includes the works of students. Through the years, it has become an important meeting point for exchanging ideas, experience, and opinions, as it is attended by authors and other persons who are experts in the field of animation.

Documentary Film Festival

The results of war, the censorship and manipulation of historical facts, segregation from society, migration, the right to freedom and expression, as well as other relevant issues are some of the topics of the documentaries that have been shown for nearly 20 years at a very special festival in Ljubljana. Its special feature is an award given by Amnesty International Slovenia to a selected documentary film dealing with human rights.

Maribor Theatre Festival

If you are interested in the best Slovenian theatre productions, visit Maribor in October and one of its main cultural attractions, which is more than half a century old. This is a festival featuring selected stage performances from the past season of Slovenian theatre. The best of the best is awarded by a panel of expert judges, and a deserving actor or actress receives the great honour of the Borštnik Ring for their lifetime achievements.

Mladi Levi (Young Lions)

This festival focuses on showing innovative approaches to creating and intertwining artistic disciplines. It brings various creative artists to Ljubljana in August – established artists as well as those who we still need to learn about and appreciate. You will certainly enjoy it if you want to see something different, daring, unusual, and experimental. Young Lions is also a place to discuss various artistic practices and to develop ideas for creating programmes with a difference.

Week of Slovenian Drama

What is the easiest way of seeing the works of Slovenian authors? Visit the Week of Slovenian Drama, a festival of staging Slovenian plays, which takes place every March in the Prešeren Theatre in Kranj. In addition to the best plays of the past year, many roundtables and drama writing workshops also take place within the framework of the festival. The international programme where Slovenian plays can be heard in other languages is also interesting.

Exodos Festival

Visit the largest and oldest festival of contemporary performing arts in Slovenia. In over 20 years, the festival has hosted many famous artists from around the world and become an important hub for European and global cultures. See performances that are selected every year by a different renowned European artist and contemporary dance shows representing a different region every year.