PRO OTOK
PRO OTOK IN LJUBLJANA 2026
Filmmakers in Focus: Elsa Kremser & Levin Peter
Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter will take us into the inner workings of their creative practice, presenting their detailed film preparation processes, the fascinating twists and turns in project development and screenplay writing, as well as the surprises and anticipations that have guided them toward their final films.
Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter are a filmmaking duo and also the founders of the production company Raumzeitfilm, through which they independently produce their films. They began collaborating during their film studies and have since made three feature films: the documentaries Space Dogs (2019) and Dreaming Dogs (2024), and the fiction film The White Snail (2025). All their projects are based on years of in-depth research dedicated to the social and psychological complexities of contemporary life. Their work repeatedly explores the connections between nature, myth, and modernity. In the highly original cinematic language of Kremser and Peter, the boundaries between fiction, documentary, and the surreal are consistently blurred.
The two-day program, which includes film screenings, talks, and a masterclass, will delve into the unique creative process of the filmmaking duo, while also shedding light on the social and psychological themes addressed in their films. In the masterclass, we will hear first-hand from the filmmakers about their working methods, interests and obsessions, and their perspectives on filmmaking, art, and the world. Finally, we will also screen all of their feature films – both documentaries, Space Dogs and Dreaming Dogs, as well as their latest fiction film The White Snail, which will also be screened in June at the Kino Otok Film Festival in Izola.
11. 5. 2026
Kinodvorana AGRFT (Aškerčeva 5), 18.00–20.30
Dialogue: Space Dogs
Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter, Austria, Germany, 2019, 91′
The film looks into the lives of Moscow’s stray dogs (and other animals) today and throughout the history of space exploration. The screening will be followed by a talk with the filmmakers and Dr Tomaž Grušovnik.
Free admission.
12. 5. 2026
Kinodvorana AGRFT (Aškerčeva 5), 13.00–14.20
Dreaming Dogs
Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter, Austria, Germany, 2024, 77′
A pack of strays—a woman and dogs—live in the shadows of Moscow, where they roam restlessly through the harsh landscape of the city’s underbelly, sharing their existence on the verge of disappearance.
The screening is part of the masterclass, book your place at ana.cerar@isolacinema.org.
12. 5. 2026
Kinodvorana AGRFT (Aškerčeva 5), 14.40–16.30
Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter – Dogs, Snails, Parrots, and All Those Films!
A journey into the inner workings of creativity.
Admission is free, but spaces are limited so book yours at ana.cerar@isolacinema.org.
12. 5. 2026
Kinodvorana AGRFT (Aškerčeva 5), 18.00–20.30
White Snail
Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter, Austria, Germany, 2025, 115′
Physicality, beauty, death, and love through the eyes of a girl who dreams of a modelling career and a boy who works in a morgue while pouring his inner world—which he rarely shares with others—into his paintings.
With support from the Austrian Cultural Forum.
Followed by a Q&A. Free admission.
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PRO OTOK IN IZOLA 2026
10. 6. 2026
11.00–14.00, Manzioli Palace
Meeting of the Slovenian Art Cinema Association (AKMS): Film Education – Good Practice and the Search for Systemic Solutions
The industry meeting of the Slovenian Art Cinema Association is dedicated to film education, ranging from examples of good practice within the Slovenian cinema network, to the search for systemic solutions for the sector at large. The event also features a presentation of the results of Cinnespinners, a project implemented over the past year by the Domžale City Cinema, and the findings of a study on the current state and needs in the field of film education in smaller towns across Slovenia.
Organised by AKMS with support from Kino Otok. Free admission.
11.–12. 6. 2026
Meeting of European Film Festival Networks
Kino Otok hosts a two-day meeting of European film festival networks supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, which contribute to the development of the European festival ecosystem and the flow of knowledge, innovation, and audiences. The purpose of the event is to exchange experiences, reflect on new approaches, and find common paths towards closer cooperation and audience engagement. Featuring representatives of the Adriatic Festival Network, European Network for Film Discourse (END), Moving Images – Open Borders (MIOB), Northern Animation Network (NAN), and the host network Young Programmers for Young Audiences! (Young4Film), coordinated by Kino Otok.
Organised by Creative Europe MEDIA Desks from Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium (Flanders), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia, Italy (Turin), Lithuania, and Germany (Berlin – Brandenburg), in collaboration with Kino Otok and Motovila.
11. 6. 2026
15.00–16.30, Manzioli Palace
Inside Festival Networks: Imaginative Ways of Building Film Communities of the Future
In a public panel discussion, representatives of five European film festival networks debate new collaborative approaches to film programming, audience engagement, and international networking. Free admission.
Panelists: European Network for Film Discourse: Niels Putman (Talking Shorts); Moving Images – Open Borders: Nicoletta Romeo, Monica Goti (Trieste Film Festival); Northern Animation Network: Sandra Brunkow Simonsen (Viborg Animation Festival); Adriatic Festival Network: Franka Bihar (Zagreb Film Festival); Young 4Film: Tanja Hladnik (Kino Otok – Isola Cinema).
Chaired by: Sabina Briški Karlić, Motovila / Center Ustvarjalna Evropa v Sloveniji (CED Slovenia)
Organised by Creative Europe MEDIA Desks from Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium (Flanders), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia, Italy (Turin), Lithuania, and Germany (Berlin – Brandenburg), in collaboration with Kino Otok and Motovila.
11. 6. 2026
Designing the Set – Shaping the View
Kino Otok is excited to welcome Laurent Tesseyre, a set designer, art director and, as one of the founding members of Artscenico, the European Federation for Costume and Production Design, an advocate of formal platforms for connecting professionals both in France and at the European level. In this all-day event, Tesseyre will share insights from his extensive body of work and discuss his longstanding efforts to improve working conditions in production design.
Concept: Mojca Gorogranc Petrushevska in collaboration with Mateja Fajt.
Organised by the Slovenian Association of Set Designers, Costume Designers, and Make-up Artists (SKOM), with support from Kino Otok and The Slovenian Federation of Filmmakers’ Guilds.
11. 6. 2026
12.00–13.00, Manzioli Palace
Collective Efforts for Better Working Environment in Production Design
A discussion with Laurent Tesseyre on the importance of technical staff in production design, union activity in France, efforts for better working conditions and fair pay, and the need for European cooperation. The talk will also look into the importance of solidarity and collective action in cinema, an industry that is often far from the public eye.
Chaired by costume designer Mateja Fajt. Free admission.
11. 6. 2026
15.00–18.00, Art Cinema Odeon
Claude Lelouch, France, 1995, 175′, ap
Screening of a film in which Laurent Tesseyre served as production designer. With introduction from Mateja Medvedič, production designer and member of the SKOM managing board.
More about the film: This epic, nuanced, and—for many—the finest film adaptation of Hugo’s classic transposes the novel’s events to the 20th century, delivering a film-within-a-film while preserving the essence of the original work.
11. 6. 2026
18.00–19.00, Art Cinema Odeon
Designing the Set – Shaping the View
Laurent Tesseyre discusses his work as a set designer and art director in French cinema and on Les Misérables.
Chaired by Varja Močnik. Free admission.
12. 6. 2026
11.00, Manzioli Palace
Inspiration Accelerator for Video on the Beach Filmmakers: Short Films Through the Eyes of Film Festivals
A rendez-vous with Anna Ladinig (Austria), director of the International Film Festival Innsbruck; Thomas Zandegiacomo (Germany), program director of the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival; and film critic and programmer Neil Young (UK/Austria), discussing how films are selected for festivals and what kinds of festivals are most suitable for submitting films.
Participation for Video on the beach authors is free of charge; advance registration is required by Friday, June 5, via the registration form at this link.
13. 6. 2026
13.00, Manzioli Palace
Inspiration Accelerator for Video on the Beach Filmmakers: Multidisciplinarity or Precarity?
Today, is working across multiple artistic fields an advantage that supports filmmaking, or also a necessity in a time when culture and the arts are marked by precarious working conditions and the constant sharpening of survival skills? How can a filmmaker become a successful multidisciplinary creator, and why work at the intersections of different practices at all? A rendez-vous with filmmakers and award-winning writers: Filip Grujić, Serbian co-director of the documentary Yugo Goes to America, and Marie Luise Lehner, Austrian director of If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile, who is also active as a member of the feminist punk band Schapka.
Participation for Video on the beach authors is free of charge; advance registration is required by Friday, June 5, via the registration form at this link.
12. 6. 2026
Various venues
Short Scene Screenwriting Workshop
‘Short Scene’ is an intensive 6-month screenwriting workshop organised by the Directors’ Guild of Slovenia in collaboration with the Slovenian Film Centre and in partnership with the Society for short film promotion Kraken.
For more information, see dsr.si. For workshop participants.
