Družinica

They have a wonderful flat, a luxury car and the two kids attend the best school in town. Marko teaches philosophy, that is until he bluntly rejects the advances of a besotted student, who in turn accuses him of sexual abuse. In order to avoid a scandal the school administration terminates his contract. When his wife Dunja is made redundant, the couple soon struggle to keep up with their loan payments, and it’s not long until they find themselves struggling to pay for the bare necessities. They’re not eligible for social benefit payments; according to the latest tax assessment the couple are wealthy. Meanwhile the children are forced to come up with ever more inventive ways of overcoming hunger and making their desperate situation more bearable.

In this, his fifth feature film, Slovenian director Jan Cvitkovič portrays the social decline of a middle class family, with the fascinating composition of cinematographer Marko Brdar transforming an everyday narrative into an epic social portrait. WMH