Slovenia's entry this year's Oscar for Best International Feature Film, begins with her mother’s urging an introverted 16-year-old Lucija as she joins her Catholic school’s all-girls choir, where she befriends Ana-Marija, a popular older student. When the choir travels to a countryside convent for a weekend retreat of intensive rehearsals, Lucija navigates the unfamiliar surroundings, complex teenage social structures, and her own awakening sexuality. A series of initiations, including an eye-opening experience with a dark-eyed construction worker, test Lucija’s friendship with Ana-Marija and the other girls, as she begins to question her beliefs and disrupt the harmony within the choir. Director and Co-screenerwriter Urška Djukić joins us to talk about her beguiling feature film debit. 

About the filmmaker - Urška Djukić's most recent short film Granny's Sexual Life has won over 50 awards, including the European Film Academy Award for best short film in 2022 and the 2023 Cesar Award for best animated short film. Previous short films by Djukic also include The Right One, part of the omnibus film SEE Factory Sarajevo mon amour that premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight in 2019. In 2019, Djukic participated in the 39th edition of the Cannes Cinéfondation Residency, where she developed Little Trouble Girls, which was later awarded as the best work-in-progress project at the Les Arcs Film Festival in December 2023. Little Trouble Girls is her first feature film.