The Eastern Neighbors Film Festival, which annually presents the best and most relevant films from Eastern Europe in The Hague, is going on tour and will also visit Rialto. On Saturday, October 16, it will present the Dutch premiere of the feature film Once Were Humans by Slovenian director Goran Vojnovic.
Once Were Humans
Italian Leo and Bosnian Vucko are business partners who both live in Slovenia. Together they own a restaurant. Leo has a son to support, and Vucko, a former refugee, lives with his sick mother. The trouble begins when the bank refuses to give them a loan to renovate their restaurant. Unable to repay their debt, and faced with losing their restaurant, they go to a swindler called Gianni who offers them to steal his truck, so that he would receive insurance money and pay them their share. Under the darkness of the night, Leo steals the truck at gunpoint, but they soon realise it is the wrong one. This truck is full of migrants. What are they going to do with them? Leo’s and Vucko’s humanity is put to the test as difficult decisions must be made.
In his third feature, Slovenian director Goran Vojnovic tackles the highly topical theme of refugees and migrants. Not so much because it is even more urgent now than it was a few years ago, but mainly because as those years go by we seem to have become less and less human.
After the screening ENFF has organized a wine tasting with AndereWijn as well as a small reception hosted, by the Slovenian Embassy, where you can enjoy a typical Slovenian drink and the famous Slovenian potica (delicious walnut cake).