We were among those attending the screenings as students of the University of Primorska, collaborating with the Otok Institute as part of the project Problem-based learning for students in the workplace: the economy, the non-economic and non-profit sectors in local/regional environment 2024—2027 – Words Behind the Screen.
Both screenings offered an opportunity to reflect on personal and collective memory and on life in times of war, while also emphasising the power of film as a medium for social reflection. Each screening was introduced by Varja Močnik, the Programme Director of Kino Otok – Isola Cinema, who discussed the director of each relevant film and then went on to outline each film’s key themes and broader context.
The programme opened on Monday, 23 March, with My Armenian Phantoms, a documentary by Tamara Stepanyan. The film arises out of the director’s personal experience of the loss of her father, the renowned actor Vigen Stepanyan. Through a combination of archival footage, excerpts from films, and personal reflections, the film deepens a dialogue between the past and the present. At the same time, it brings into focus the rich tradition of Armenian cinema, along with a broader storytelling heritage shaped by identity, love, artistic expression, and historical upheaval.
A week later, on Monday, 30 March, the programme continued with a screening of Invasion by the director Sergei Loznitsa. The film captures all the complexity of everyday life in Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Known for his observational style, Loznitsa assembled the film from a sequence of self-contained episodes filmed in different places and at different periods in time. Placing people and their stories in the foreground, the film thus explores how life is reshaped by war, emerging both as a powerful record of its moment and as a more general reflection on life in times of crisis.
The two screenings reaffirmed that, even beyond the festival itself, Kino Otok – Isola Cinema continues to offer an engaged, thoughtful, and artistically distinctive film programme that prompts reflection on the world we live in.
Written by: Kaja Stanič
Translation into English: Anastasiia Chemerys
The operation is co-financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).