Fortress Europe

  • Želimir Žilnik
  • Slovenia
  • 2000
  • 80'
  • Tvrđava Evropa

A docudrama about people of different nationalities, crossing borders and breaking European laws, as they make their way across Central Europe to the West. Based on real-life events, the film is a reconstruction of stories featuring their original protagonists. It centres on a Russian family: Svetlana lives in Trieste with her friends, awaiting the arrival of her daughter Katja. Katja is escorted by her father and Svetlana’s ex-husband, Artjom. The two run into some trouble, finding themselves in a foreign country without papers they need to cross borders legally. Fortress Europe is the first in a series of Želimir Žilnik’s explorations of the topic of refugees, continued in The Most Beautiful Country in the World (2018).

Subtitles: EN

Želimir Žilnik

Born in 1942 in Niš. One of the most notable representatives of the Yugoslav Black Wave, whose films were often censored and banned, but he has gained international acclaim since his earliest works. His diverse filmography includes: Early Works (1969), Pretty Women Walking Through the City (1986), The Way Steel Was Tempered (1988), and Marble Ass (1995).

Fortress Europe

Director
Želimir Žilnik
Screenplay
Toni Tršar
Cast
Svetlana Zajceva, Emil Tchouk, Hannah Nortman
DOP
Radovan Čok
Editing
Matjaž Janković, Vojko Polič
Producer
Toni Tršar
Production
Low Budget Production, RTV Slovenia

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