Jan Cvitkovič (born 1966) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and actor.

Life and career

Jan Cvitkovič was born in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. He attended primary school in

Tolmin Tolmin (; ,trilingual name ''Tolmein, Tolmino, Tolmin'' inGemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Bearbeit auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1900. Herausgegeben von der K.K. Statistische ...

and finished his high school studies in

Idrija Idrija (, in older sources ''Zgornja Idrija''; , ) is a town in western Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Idrija. Located in the traditional region of the Slovene Littoral and in the Gorizia Statistical Region, it is notable for it ...

. He graduated in

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

from th
Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana
In the late '90s, he entered the world of filmmaking as a screenwriter, soon after that as an actor and finally as a film director. His films have been screened at more than 200 festivals around the world and have received more than 60 awards. The most notable awards he received were the Lion of the Future at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

and the Best New Director Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival. His films have been broadcast in several European countries on well-known television stations such as TV1000, RAI,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

ARTE Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

, SBS Australia. Cvitkovič received the Prešeren Fund Award at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

for his significant artistic works in the field of film and television. He is a member of the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

and has also been a jury member at several international film festivals in

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Gijon,

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...

, and

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. He was a guest lecturer at

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(UPenn), where his feature films were screened. Cvitkovič is also the co-founder of the film production compan
STARAGARA
and the initiator and honorary president of the International Film Festival Kino Otok
Isola Cinema
.

Filmography (feature films)

Director

Bread and Milk ''Bread and Milk'' ( Slovene: ''Kruh in mleko'') is a 2001 Slovene film directed by Jan Cvitkovič. It was Slovenia's submission to the 74th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. ...

(2001) ... Kruh in mleko (SI) * Gravehopping (2005) ... Odgrobadogroba (SI) * Archeo (2011) Šiška Deluxe (2015) * The Basics of Killing (2017) ... Družinica (SI)

Screenwriter

* Idle Running (1999) – co-writer ... V leru (SI) * Bread and Milk (2001) ... Kruh in mleko (SI) * Gravehopping (2005) ... Odgrobadogroba (SI) * Archeo (2011) Šiška Deluxe (2015) * The Basics of Killing (2017) ... Družinica (SI)

Actor

* Idle Running (1999) – co-writer ... V leru (SI) *

(2001) ... Kruh in mleko (SI) * Oda Presernu (2001) * Desperado Tonic (2004) * Good Night, Missy (2011) ... Lahko noč, gospodična (SI) * Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot (2013) ... Zoran, il mio nipote scemo (IT) * Driving School (2014) ... Avtošola (SI) * Volevo fare la rockstar (Italian TV Series, RAI, 2019) * Eppure cadiamo felici (Italian TV Series, RAI, 2022) * Primeri inspektorja Vrenka (2023)

Filmography (short films)

Director

* The Heart Is a Piece of Meat (2003) ... Srce je kos mesa (SI) * I Know (2007) ... Vem (SI) * This is Earth, My Brother (2009) * Hundred Dogs (2012) ... Sto psov (SI) * I Was a Child (2013) ... Bil sem otrok (SI) * Love on the Roof of the World (2015) ... Ljubezen na strehi sveta (SI) * Fishing (2016) ... Ribolov (SI) * Versopolis (2018) * Do You See Me? (2022) ... A ti mene vidiš? (SI)

Screenwriter

* Robbery of the Century (1998) ... Rop stoletja (SI) * The Heart Is a Piece of Meat (2003) ... Srce je kos mesa (SI) * I Know (2007) ... Vem (SI) * This is Earth, My Brother (2009) * Hundred Dogs (2012) ... Sto psov (SI) * I Was a Child (2013) ... Bil sem otrok (SI) * Love on the Roof of the World (2015) ... Ljubezen na strehi sveta (SI) * Fishing (2016) ... Ribolov (SI) * Versopolis (2018) * Smehljanje nasih pesnikov (2019) * Do You See Me? (2022) ... A ti mene vidiš? (SI)

Actor

* I Was a Child (2013) ... Bil sem otrok (SI) * Reconciliation (2014) ... Sprava (SI) * Versopolis (2018)

TV Series

* Odklop (1997) – co-writer * Daleč je smrt (2002) – director and co-writer * Lenin's Park (2022) – actor

Documentaries

* Total Gambit (2010) – director and co-writer

Awards

Robbery of the Century (Rop stoletja)

* Grossman Award for Best Screenplay * Krakow Film Festival ** Awarded film * Klagenfurt Film Festival ** Awarded film

Idle Running (V leru)

* Festival of Slovenian Film (1999) ** Award for Best Screenplay ** Stop Award for Best Actor of the Year * Kyiv Film Festival (1999) ** Best Actor Award
FilmFestival Cottbus
(1999) ** Best Actor Award * Faces of Love Film Festival (2000) ** Best Actor Award

Bread and Milk (Kruh in mleko)

* Foreign language

OSCAR Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

candidate * Festival of Slovenian Film (2001) ** Vesna Award for Best Actor – Peter Musevski ** Vesna Award for Best Supporting Actress Award – Sonja Savic *

(2001) ** Lion of the Future – Best Debut Feature Film Award
FilmFestival Cottbus
(2001) ** Special Jury Prize ** Don Quijotte – Prize of the International Federation of Film Clubs ** Special Mention of the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Jury * Ljubljana International Film Festival (2001) ** KingFisher Award – Best Film of the Perspective section * Gorizia Film Festival (2001) ** Darko Bratina Prize * Bratislava International Film Festival (2001) ** Best Actor Award of the Festival Jury **

Jury Special Mention Award * Motovun Film Festival (2002) ** Jury Special Mention Award * Valencia International Film Festival (2002) ** Best Actor Award – Peter Musevski

The Heart Is a Piece of Meat (Srce je kos mesa)

Source: *

(2004) ** International premiere in the Corto Cortissimo Competition * Gijon International Film Festival (2004) ** Best Short Film Award
FilmFestival Cottbus
(2004) ** Special Mention Award * Festival Internacional de Cortos FIB, Spain (2005) ** Best Actor Award – Primož Petkovšek

Gravehopping (Odgrobadogroba)

* Foreign language

candidate (2005) * San Sebastian International Film Festival (2005) ** Altadis New Director Award * Warsaw International Film Festival (2005) ** CentEast Award
FilmFestival Cottbus
(2005) ** Ecumenical Jury Award for Best Film ** Main Prize for Best Film * Torino Film Festival (2005) ** Best Script Award ** Best Film Award * Ljubljana International Film Festival (2005) ** Jury Special Mention Award * Festival of Slovenian Film (2005) ** Best Feature Film ** Best Supporting Actress Award ** Best Supporting Actor Award * Spirit of Fire Film Festival in Russia (2006) ** Second Prize (Silver Taiga) ** Special Jury Award for the most impressive film scene * Sofia International Film Festival (2006) ** Best Balkan Film Award * Festroia Film Festival (2006) ** Special Jury Prize (Silver Dolphin) * Palic European Film Festival (2006) ** Best Film Award (Golden Tower) * Pécs International Film Celebration (2006) ** Best Actor Award – Gregor Baković ** Best Cinematography Award – Simon Tanšek ** Audience Award * International Torun Film Festival TOFFI (2006) ** Special Jury Prize ** Critic Award of Zygmunt Kałużyński * Noordelijk Film Festival (2006) ** Student Jury Award * South East European Film Festival (2007) ** Critics Award for Best Film

I Know (Vem)

* World premiere at the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

(2008) * Festival of Slovenian Film (2000) ** Vesna Award for Best Short Fiction Film * Gong Award of the Delo Newspaper (2008)

Total Gambit (Totalni gambit)

Documentary of the Month on Slovenian National Television (2010)

Archeo

* Festival of Slovenian Film (2011) ** Vesna Award for Best Feature Film ** Vesna Award for Best Director – Jan Cvitkovič ** Vesna Award for Best Cinematography – Jure Černec * International Film Festival Innsbruck (2012) ** Best Film Award

Hundred Dogs (Sto psov)

* Festival of Slovenian Film (2012) ** Vesna Award for Best Original Music

I Was a Child (Bil sem otrok)

* the film was created upon the proposal of the

* World premiere at the Venice Film Festival (2013)

Love on the Roof of the World (Ljubezen na strehi sveta)

* Festival of Slovenian Film (2015) ** Vesna Award for Best Short Fiction Film ** Vesna Award for Best Director – Jan Cvitkovič ** Vesna Award for Best Original Music – Niko Novak ** Vesna Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role – Ivo Barišič

Šiška Deluxe

* World premiere at the

The Basics of Killing (Družinica)

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Zagreb Film Festival (2017) ** Special Jury Award * Belgrade International Film Festival (2018) ** Special Jury Award * Mostar Film Festival (2018) ** Best Actress Award * See Online Film Festival in Los Angeles (2018) ** Special Mention Award

Do You See Me? (A ti mene vidiš?)

* Veracruz Itinerant Short Film Festival (2022) ** Special Mention

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cvitkovic, Jan 1966 births Living people Slovenian film directors People from Tolmin