Kino Otok in Ljubljana: ‘Kelly Reichardt Retrospective – Unwavering Commitment to Otherness’

This year, the Kino Otok – Isola Cinema International Film Festival is also joining one of the programs of Slovenia’s leading film festival, Liffe, which will take place between November 12 and 23 in Ljubljana’s cinemas and on several screens across Slovenia. The Slovenian Cinematheque will be screening a retrospective of Kelly Reichardt – Unwavering Commitment to Otherness, featuring feature films by one of the most prominent and innovative contemporary independent American filmmakers.

Kino Otok looks to the lesser-known cinematographies of the world, and American cinema is no exception, as some of its films and authors remain out of the spotlight due to the aggressive promotion and visibility of Hollywood. Kelly Reichardt is certainly not invisible; she is an influential filmmaker whose work is shown at the world’s leading festivals, where it has earned her recognition, profound reflection, and criticism. However, cinema-goers can only see her films on the screens of selected cinemas and festivals. In the heart of Kino Otok lie the so-called margins, and that is where Reichardt also directs her focus and her camera.

In a distinctly authorial, unique style, Kelly Reichardt explores people, their lives, and environments that represent a large part of American life, but only rarely, and even then only through the author’s subtle cinematic treatment, do they become part of our visible image of America. Reichardt’s cinematic vision is characterized by a special attention to marginal characters and landscapes, strong female protagonists, an emphasis on man’s undeniable connection to nature, an undermining of American mythology, an exploration of genres, and a precise framing and rhythm of cinematic images in the style of slow cinema.

River of Grass, Kelly Reichardt, USA, 1994

Following the June screening of Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves (USA, 2013) at the Kino Otok festival in Izola, the Slovenian Cinematheque will be showing all eight of the director’s feature films in the Kelly Reichardt Retrospective – Unwavering Commitment to Otherness section between November 12 and 22, while her latest film, The Mastermind (USA, 2025), will be screened twice in the Kings and Queens section of the Liffe festival. The programme of the retrospective at the Slovenian Cinematheque is available here: link.

“In subverting all cinematic expectations and paying scrupulous attention to the medium itself, Reichardt has solidified in every way her position as a giant of American and world cinema,” wrote Anja Banko in a text that can be read on the Liffe festival website: link.

The Kelly Reichardt retrospective was prepared by the Slovenian Cinematheque in collaboration with the Ljubljana International Film Festival Liffe and the Kino Otok – Isola Cinema International Film Festival.