15/05/2024 - Based on a best-selling novel, Naberšnik’s fifth feature tells the story of a girl who has to face challenges such as the loss of loved ones while growing up

Marko Naberšnik has started shooting his fifth feature, Whites Wash at Ninety. It is an adaptation of a best-selling autobiographical novel by Bronja Žakelj, who also co-wrote the script with the filmmaker. According to the shooting schedule, it will last for 32 days and continue until the end of June on location in Slovenia (Ljubljana and Tržič), Italy (Trieste and Udine) and Croatia (Rovinj), with eight more shooting days pencilled in for the end of September.

On the occasion of the start of principal photography, Naberšnik said: “Shooting is like a mosaic. Every day is important to enable us to create the cinematic magic at the end. Bronja wrote a successful novel full of emotions, and we, the actors and the crew, will try to do everything we can to give it an honest cinematic adaptation that will be just as good as the source novel.” Bronja Žakelj also stated that she would like the film to capture the time of her generation’s youth, and to bring its spirit and sentiment to the screen, while also sending a message of faith and hope.

The story starts off in Ljubljana in the 1980s. Young Bronja is growing up with her parents, Janez and Mita, her brother Rok and her grandmother Dada. As she gets older, she has to face the death of her mother, her brother’s fatal accident, her own cancer diagnosis and her grandma’s passing. Luckily for her, she always has something to live for…

Naberšnik is best known for his first two features, filmed in the spirit of Yugoslav cinema: Rooster’s Breakfast (2007) and Shanghai Gypsy (2012). After those, he also helmed a chamber war drama called The Woods Are Still Green (2014) and a contemporary social drama called Slovenia, Australia and Tomorrow the World [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2017). Lately, he has been mostly active on television, directing short documentaries, as well as fictional series of different genres.

The principal roles will be played by Anica Dobra (recently seen in Fox in a Hole [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arman T Riahi
film profile]), Jurij Zrnec, Lea Cok (glimpsed in Bitch, a Derogatory Term for a Woman [+see also:
film review
film profile] and Consequences [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darko Štante
interview: Timon Sturbej
film profile]), Tjaša Železnik (Class Enemy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rok Biček
interview: Rok Bicek
interview: Rok Bicek
film profile], Dual [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nejc Gazvoda
film profile]), Iva Krajnc Bagola, Saša Tabaković, Polona Juh and others. Max Sušnik serves as the director of photography, Maja Moravec handles the production design, and Nadja Bedjanić is the costume designer. The make-up is handled by Anita Ferčak and Jasmina Mina Ilić, while Milica Jelača is tasked with editing.

Aleš Pavlin and Andrej Štritof are the producers for Perfo. The film is being co-produced by Nikolina Vučetić-Zečević (of Serbian company Biberche), Ankica Jurić Tilić (Croatian outfit Kinorama), Miljan Vučelić (Montenegrin firm Protos Film), Tomi Salkovski and Kristijan Burovski (for Macedonian company Black Cat Production), as well as Michele Codarin and Giorgio Milocco for Italy’s Quasar. Whites Wash at Ninety has received financial support from the Slovenian Film Centre, POP TV, Viba Film, Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Friuli-Venezia-Guilia Film Commission and Eurimages.