Riders

by Dominik Mencej

Jezdeca, 2022, fiction, digital DCP, 2,39:1/2,35:1, c, 110 min
Finished

SI, IT, HR, RS, BA

Two friends from a small village transform their mopeds into choppers and embark on a journey, traveling through dreams of the past and visions of the future, looking for freedom and love. On the road through Slovenia and Croatia, two countries just recently separated from Yugoslavia, they are accompanied by a young runaway woman with a mysterious past and an old biker. Personal values are tested and free will questioned.

screenwriters
Boris Grgurović, Dominik Mencej
director
Dominik Mencej
producers
Miha Černec, Jožko Rutar
co-producers
Danijel Pek, Milan Stojanović, Igor Prinčič, Srdjan Šarenac
director of photography
Janez Stucin
music composer
Luca Ciut
film editors
Andrej Nagode, Matic Drakulić
production designer
Iva Rodić
costume designer
Katarina Zaninović
key make-up artist
Tatjana Lipanović
sound designer
Samo Jurca

featuring
Timon Šturbej, Petja Labović, Anja Novak, Nikola Kojo

production
Staragara
co-production
Antitalent, Sense Production, Transmedia, Novi film, RTV Slovenija, NuFrame
co-funding
Slovenian Film Centre, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Creative Europe - MEDIA, Re-Act, Film Center Serbia, Sarajevo Film Fund
distribution
Staragara

Staragara
Miha Černec
miha@staragara.com

Dominik Mencej (1987), writer and director, graduated in film and TV directing from the AGRFT. Worked as a director on many TV series. Best known in Slovenia for his award-winning and critically-acclaimed magic realist short films. Interested in finding new ways to tell unconventional stories. Mencej’s filmography includes: Growing up (2017, with S. Gačić, documentary), The Springtime Sleep (2014, fiction), and Garbage Day (2011, documentary short).

“Freedom is something everybody understands, but no one can explain.”

WP:
SFF - Sarajevo Film Festival, Competition programme, 2022

Awards:
Special Prize for best debutant (BaNeFF - Balkan New Film Festival, 2023) , Iridium Award best film (Festival of Slovenian Film, 2022) , 4 Vesna Award awards (Festival of Slovenian Film, 2022) , FEDEORA Recognition Award best film (Herceg Novi Montenegro Film Festival, 2022)