Little Shepherds

by France Štiglic

Pastirci, 1973, fiction, Digital DCP (2023), 83 min
Finished

YU (SI)

The film shows the adventures of alpine shepherds, or rather, shepherd boys, who, while tending their flocks, experience the joys and heartaches of growing up, first love, dreams of travelling to distant places and the brooding charm of a nearby mill. Besides their fantasies, the boys face far more down-to-earth difficulties. Blaže is caught in a fox trap and Terezka is the cause of dispute between Lenart and Ferjanč. Lenart discovers that his trousers have disappeared after his dip in the lake and to get back at Ferjanč, frays the ropes on their great swing which swoops back and forth out over a precipice. Will his childish act of revenge lead to tragedy, or will childish innocence renew the strength of their friendship?

based on the book by
France Bevk
screenwriter
Ivan Potrč
director
France Štiglic
director of photography
Rudi Vavpotič
music composer
Alojz Srebotnjak
film editor
Dušan Povh
production designer
Niko Matul
costume designer
Alenka Bartl Prevoršek
key make-up artist
Hilda Jurečič

featuring
Andrej Čevka, Miha Levstek, Bogo Ropotar, Ksenija Sinur

production
Filmski studio Viba Film
distribution
Slovenian Film Centre

Slovenian Film Centre
Jaka Strnad
promocija@sfc.si

In 1948 the director France Štiglic (1919–93) shot On Our Own Land, the first Slovenian live-action feature after World War II. With this full-length debut he qualified among the candidates for the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1949. He then returned to Cannes twice more: in 1957 with The Valley of Peace and in 1960 with his film The Ninth Circle. Both times he was nominated for the Golden Palm. In 1961 The Ninth Circle also qualified, as the Yugoslav candidate, among the finalists nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Štiglic's more prominent achievements also include the films That Beautiful Day; The Ballad of the Trumpet and the Cloud; Don't Cry, Peter; Little Shepherds; and The Story of Good People. His directorial opus includes twelve feature films.