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Earlier this week, the shooting of the debut film Lost Years, written and directed by Áron Horváth Botka, began in Vojvodina. The filming locations will include several small towns north of Novi Sad in Serbia.
At the start of the film shoot, Horváth said: “Lost Years is a story that has been with me for the last decade of my life. I started writing it as a creative experiment in the road film genre, but it quickly became clear that something much more personal was emerging. The script is based on fragments of my childhood memories – the carefree summers at my grandmother’s house in Vojvodina, the sense of security my family gave me even then, and the uncertainty that marked the 1990s in the Balkans. At first, these memories seemed quite ordinary, perhaps even insignificant, but over time, I realised that this period had marked and shaped me profoundly. Lost Years will be a collage of memories, a time capsule of sorts, consisting of tiny moments – the ones that often go unnoticed but form an essential part of growing up.”
One day, Borš, a grocery store clerk in a small Serbian town in the mid-1990s, meets Tana, a young woman from Hungary. Together, they embark on a quest to find her lost backpack. During their journey through the Serbian countryside, an unexpected friendship blossoms between them, changing their lives forever.
Starring: Aleksa Sekelj (Borš), Lilla Kizlinger (Tana), Andraž Jug (Mák), Attilla Mess (uncle Jani), and Tibor Szloboda (Csillag).
The film features the work of the director of photography Domen Martinčič, production designer Jelena Terzić Stanković, costume designer Ina Ferlan, makeup designer Jovana Vukosavljević, and editor Andrej Avanzo.
The film is produced by Jerca Jerič and Andraž Jerič from the Temporama production company. As filming commenced, Andraž Jerič stated: “We are delighted to have successfully begun making another debut feature by a young Slovenian director who drew inspiration for his script from his personal memories and experiences, also as a member of the Hungarian national minority. The filming at various locations in Vojvodina has also been made possible by our successful co-production cooperation with Set Sail Films, a young production company from Belgrade and a vital partner for the realisation of such a complex film. Although Serbia is currently experiencing considerable political instability, the project is progressing smoothly.”
The film is co-produced by Andrijana Sofranić Šućur and Miloš Ivanović from the Serbian production company Set Sail Films, alongside RTV Slovenija. The project is financially supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, Film Centre Serbia, Creative Europe – MEDIA, and RE-ACT.
Áron Horváth Botka was born in Slovenia in 1991 into a bilingual family and grew up as a member of the Hungarian national minority. In 2016, he graduated in film directing from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana, followed by a master’s degree in film studies in 2021. Since 2015, he has directed several short films, including Bits, which premiered at the 23rd Festival of Slovenian Film in 2020 and won the Vesna Award for Best Short Film. The film was subsequently screened at many festivals around the world.
Source: Slovenian Film Centre
