The Body

by Petra Seliškar

Telo, 2023, documentary, c
Finished Q1 2023

SI, MK, HR

Urška recalls the day when she dived into Lake Prespa in the middle of the Macedonian mountains fifteen years ago. Her four-year-old daughter, Zoja, and her close friend Petra were waiting for her on the bank. She remembers swimming towards an island lying in the middle of the lake, trying to break free from her confused and dark thoughts. The next day Urška fell into a coma. She woke up in a Slovenian hospital, struggling to figure out who she was and what had happened. She didn’t know it was only the beginning of a medical ordeal that would last a decade. Fifteen years later, Urška and Petra go back to Lake Prespa. Urška is gradually putting her life puzzle together as the two friends rewind the film of the events, replaying the tumultuous journey of Urška’s relationship with herself. They go back to Urška’s diary, where she recorded her organic journey from a desire to get rid of one’s body to the mysterious learning of self-reconciliation.

screenwriter
Petra Seliškar
director
Petra Seliškar
producer
Petra Seliškar
co-producers
Sara Ferro, Tamara Babun
associate producer
Victor Ede
director of photography
Brand Ferro
music composer
Vladimir Rakić
film editors
Saško Potter Micevski, Sandra Bastašić
sound designers
Vladimir Rakić, Vera Galešev

featuring
Urška Ristić, Zoja Ristić, Bojan Ristić, Mija Ristić, Danica Žvan, Petra Seliškar, Maja Povše, Mitko Filev, Tita Cvetković, Romina Ponti, Juri Pipkane, Tibor Rep, Boris Damovski, Alojz Ihan, Adele Kohout, Terra Ferro Seliškar, Jakim Tasevski, Dragan Mishevski

production
Petra Pan Film
co-production
PPFP, Wolfgang i Dolly
co-funding
Slovenian Film Centre, North Macedonia Film Agency, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Eurimages, Région Sud - Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Creative Europe - MEDIA

PETRA PAN FILM
Petra Seliškar
petrapanfilm@gmail.com

Director, writer, and producer Petra Seliškar (1978) founded her own production house Petra Pan Film in 2003, focusing on creative documentaries. With her wealth of experience and talent, she has flourished as a filmmaker with profound insight, sensibility, strong narrative force, and an innovative approach. Seliškar’s filmography includes the following internationally awarded documentaries: Farewell (2020), My World Is Upside Down (2015), Mother Europe (2013), and The Grandmothers of Revolution (2006). Petra had co-produced more than 20 international films.

“"When she dives into the lake on that day, in a lost region of the Macedonian mountains, Urška doesn’t intend to come back. She left behind her, on the bank, two friends, Petra and Brand, and a five-year-old daughter Zoja. She dives and she swims, and swims towards the island lying in the middle of the lake. And, while she’s swimming, she knows she doesn’t want to come back. Ever. A young single woman who refuses fatality and has her whole life ahead of her. Two days later, the little band came back from that summer trip to the Macedonian mountains. The day after Urška was falling into a coma."”

Awards:
Vesna Award best film (Festival of Slovenian Film, 2023)