Every new edition of the festival dedicated to experimental AV production is a jubilee in Slovenia. In an environment that has no elaborated vision of the development and production of experimental cinema and where the latter does not even exist in the open calls for film co-funding, every event dedicated to experimental creativity is a reason for celebration. That is why the third edition of the V-F-X Ljubljana Festival of Experimental AV Practices is a real feast. Another reason for celebration is also the recent news that the festival has for the first time received the support of the Slovenian Film Centre, which we consider an acknowledgement of our work so far, but it might also signal that the decision-makers are going to pay somewhat more attention to this film form in the future. If, in the previous two years, we presented our programme somewhat shyly, we can now self-confidently say that this year’s edition is a big step forward both in content and in ensuring continuity.

Four festival days challenge the horizon of the domesticated gaze: with the filmmaker in focus, the experimental animator Gudrun Krebitz, we will explore the polyphonic layering of intimate cinematic landscapes; we will get to know the blazing Pan-American experimental production through two programmes selected by the guest curator Jean-Jacques Martinod, while this year’s new section Vistas brings together what the programme team has gleaned from the wide field of current practices. With the New Light programme we would like to emphasise the significance of preserving Slovenian heritage, but we at the same time also unreservedly think about the future: during the festival, the interactive VR installation Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness will test the limits of the gaze. In addition to Neža Knez’s workshop and exhibition, the Czech artist Jan Kulka will provide a fitting closing of the festival with his AV performance. Vive le expérimental!

Programme Team