Director Marko Naberšnik Shoots Whites Wash at Ninety

The acclaimed Slovenian director Marko Naberšnik is currently in production with Whites Wash at Ninety / Belo se pere na devetdeset.

Based on real-life events, this Slovenian/Croatian/Italian/Serbian/Macedonian/Montenegrin coproduction is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, as described in the autobiographical novel by Slovenian writer Bronja Žakelj. The 40-days shooting is taking place in Ljubljana and Vršič (Slovenia), Udine and Trieste (Italy) and Rovinj (Croatia) from May to June 2024, with some extra days left for the end of September 2024.

When Bronja was a child, she enjoyed exploring the world with her younger brother and found comfort in her grandmother. Then her carefree life is shattered when she learns of her mother's death from cancer. As she grows up, she struggles with learning difficulties and becomes more interested in boys. At the end of her teenage years, she is diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, but she manages to overcome the disease with unwavering determination. However, tragedy strikes again when her brother dies in a fatal climbing accident. Despite the pain and heartache, Bronja slowly begins to trust again and finds love with a boy named Blaž.

Bronja Žakelj penned the script together with Marko Naberšnik, and the main roles are played by well-known Slovenian actors Jurij Zrnec, Tjaša Železnik, Lea Cok, Iva Kranjc Bagola, Saša Tabaković and Polona Juh, along famous Serbian actress Anica Dobra, and others.

“Shooting is like a mosaic. Every shooting day is important to make the magic happen on film in the end. Bronja wrote a successful novel full of emotions, and with a team of excellent actors and colleagues behind the camera, we will do everything to make her story equally sincere on film,” says director Marko Naberšnik.

Whites Wash at Ninety is produced by Aleš Pavlin and Andrej Štritof through Perfo Production in coproduction with Serbian Biberche, North Macedonian Black Cat Production, Croatian Kinorama, Montenegrin Protos Film and Italian Quasar. The project is supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, Pro plus, FS Viba Film, Film Center Serbia, the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Film Commission Friuli Venezia Gulia (FVG) and Eurimages.

“The budget is estimated at 1,418,356 EUR,” producer Aleš Pavlin told FNE, adding that making this film is a tremendous challenge to transfer the power and emotion of this wonderful novel to film.

The film is expected to be finished in the spring of 2025. This is the fifth feature film by Marko Naberšnik, whose debut film Rooster's Breakfast (2007, Arsmedia) is among the top most-watched Slovenian films of all time.

Damijan Vinter for FNE
Source: Slovenian Film Centre