MILKA BADJURA
OCTOBER 1 | 16.00
Kinemax Gorizia
Director Milka Badjura
Milka Badjura (born Kunstler in 1902; died in 1992) left an indelible mark on Slovenian cinema alongside her husband, Metod – first as a pioneer and later as a master of film editing. Far less well known, however, is her contribution to researching and portraying Slovenian history, culture, and geography.
Even before the Second World War, the Badjuras began exploring Slovenian customs and traditions as amateur filmmakers. Through their company, Sava Film, they laid the foundations for the first serious film production in Slovenia. In the early days, Milka even did her editing in the kitchen – naturally, while taking care of all the other household chores. (Žiga Brdnik, curator)
The program is produced in collaboration with the Slovenian Film Archive, the Slovenian Cinematheque, the Slovenian Film Centre
SPRING IN BELA KRAJINA
Milka and Metod Badjura, Yugoslavia (Slovenia), 1952, 14’, B&W, 35mm
White Carniola was one of the key strongholds of the National Liberation Struggle during the Second World War, where a people’s government was also established during the war. Yet most Slovenians knew little of this remote region along the Kolpa River, apart from what they had encountered in a handful of literary works. Milka and Metod Badjura were the first to bring images of its magnificent landscape, its people and their everyday lives, as well as one of Slovenia’s central folk traditions, jurjevanje, to Slovenian and Yugoslav audiences in this beautiful short film. Although they conceived and directed the film together, only Metod received the Prešeren Award for it in 1953. Three years later, they made a sequel together, Obnova v deželi svobode (1955), focusing on the post-war reconstruction and modernization of White Carniola.
KROPA BLACKSMITHS
Milka and Metod Badjura, Jugoslavia (Slovenia), 1953, 14’, B&W, 35mm
The products of the blacksmiths from Kropa rank among Slovenia’s best-known artistic and craft masterpieces, with a tradition spanning several centuries. Alongside numerous works of art, Milka and Metod Badjura also trace the history of blacksmithing in Kropa, from the heavy toil of entire families in old peasant cottages to an organized and highly regarded craft practiced first in manufactories and later in modern workshops. They also highlight the importance of workers’ organization in the flourishing of the craft: as early as half a century before the advent of socialism, the blacksmiths of Kropa and their families had established their own nailmakers’ cooperative.
THE BRDA HILLS
Milka and Metod Badjura, Jugoslavia (Slovenia), 1960, 11’, color, 35’
A beautiful cinematic tribute to Goriška Brda and its people. In the film, Milka and Metod Badjura present Brda as a place of historic significance, a land of “a thousand years of resistance by the Slovenian people” and the “last line of defense of the homeland.” They also portray its natural beauty, folk traditions and art, as well as the agricultural work associated above all with the famed Brda cherries and the celebrated grapevines that remain a vital source of livelihood and a defining feature of the region to this day.
CAROLLERS
Milka and Metod Badjura, Jugoslavia (Slovenia), 1967, 13’, color, 35’
One of Milka and Metod Badjura’s boldest films, which transforms koledovanje—the New Year’s custom of going from house to house in the village—into an ode to human exuberance and revelry, while also showing, without embellishment, the Dionysian side of village traditions. Among the carolers appearing before the camera is Bojan Adamič, a legend of Slovenian film music, whose accordion playing and mischievous spirit set the rhythm for the increasingly boisterous company.