Between 5 and 29 July 2017, the Film Under the Stars is going to be held in the courtyard of the Ljubljana Castle, a summer cinema again offering a diverse selection of quality films.

This year’s Film Under the Stars, co-organised by Kinodvor City Cinema and the Ljubljana Castle, which is again taking place in the magical setting of the Castle courtyard, is opening on 5 July with the touching, poetic animated allegory about the eternal circle of life, the link between man and nature and deep family and love connections, the Red Turtle (La Tortue rouge, 2016). The animated feature film in the unique minimalist style of the director, animator and illustrator Michaël Dudok de Wit is a co-production with the famous Japanese studio Ghibli. Before visitors can swim to de Wit’s lone tropical island they are going to see a pre-feature short film made by director and animator Špela Čadež, this year’s winner of the Župančič Award for Two-Year Creativity who is going to honour us with her presence at the opening. Her Nighthawk (Nočna ptica), which a few days ago received the main prize at the Zagreb Animated Film Festival Animafest, is the most awarded Slovenian film of the year!

This year, just like every year, the schedule of the Film Under the Stars includes a diverse selection of quality films which made a strong mark in the past cinema season with the addition of five previews, that is, premiere film screenings. Among other films visitors can see one of the most eagerly awaited studio films of the year, the war drama about the historical Operation Dynamo Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man (Dunkirk, 2017) directed by Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar).

During the introductory weekend of the Film Under the Stars there is a preview screening of the Odyssey (L’odyssée, 2016), an epic ode to scientific curiosity and the film documentarist taking us on a journey across oceans and through a half a century in the life of the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. The screening of the biographical film with Lambert Wilson and Audrey Tautou in main roles, which was in part shot on the Adriatic Sea coast, is sponsored by Peugeot.

We are going to offer to our visitors some of the most resounding festival titles, beginning with one of the discoveries at the Toronto Film Festival and a big sensation at festivals in Rotterdam and Sundance. Lady Macbeth (2016), a daring and fresh first film by the established theatre director William Oldroyd is a contemporary film noir, disguised in a Victorian costume drama. Also on our schedule is one of the highlights of this year’s Berlinale, a story about an unexpected friendship between a Syrian refugee and a Finnish restaurateur. The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen, 2017) won the grand master of absurd humour Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre) the Silver Bear for Best Director.

On 29 July, the Film Under the Stars is concluding with the traditional Vikend Avant Premiere. This time we have chosen the newest Emir Kusturica’s film On the Milky Road (Na mlečnom putu) in which the director and timeless Monica Bellucci are playing main roles in a war romance bursting at its seams with tumultuous emotions and roaring comedy. The film was premiered at the festival in Venice.

In addition to the introductory prefeatures there are also two full-length (co-)productions on this year’s schedule of the Film Under the Stars: Nightlife (Nočno življenje) for which Damjan Kozole (Spare Parts (Rezervni deli), Slovenian Girl (Slovenka)) won the Best Director Award at the festival in Karlovy Vary, and the documentary Liberation Day in which Uģis Olte and Morten Traavik are recording the performance of the cult Slovenian music group Laibach in North Korea.

Films are scheduled every day at 21:30. Films are screened in their original language with English subtitles; films in a language other than English also have English subtitles. The price of a ticket is 4.5 EUR, and for the premiere 5.5 EUR. Tickets are already in sale.

The complete programme of the Film Under the Stars, held from 5 July until 29 July 2017, is published on the Kinodvor website.