Urša Menart
EVERYTHING THAT’S WRONG WITH YOU
Maruša connects with Alja online, who works abroad as a nurse. They bond immediately. When Alja falls ill, Maruša travels to Germany to help, only to discover that not everything is as it seems.
SYNOPSIS
Maruša, a woman in her mid-twenties grappling with the aftermath of her mother's illness, seeks refuge at her estranged father's farm. Feeling lost and disconnected, she finds an unlikely friend in Alja, a nurse and social media influencer living in a small coastal town in Germany. Bonding over their shared struggles and a sense of humor, Maruša and Alja quickly develop a close friendship. When they meet in person and navigate the complexities of their lives, including Alja's health issues and personal dilemmas, their friendship is put to test.
DIRECTOR
Urša Menart
PRODUCER
Katja Lenarčić, Danijel Hočevar
WRITER
Urša Menart
CO-PRODUCERS
Alexander Wadouh, Roxana Richters, Dimče Stojanovski, Stefan Orlandić Stojanovski
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Vertigo Ljubljana
COUNTRY
Slovenia, Germany, Serbia
CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY
Chromosom Film, Living Pictures
GENRE
Fiction
Urša Menart
URŠA MENART (1985) graduated in Film and TV directing from University of Ljubljana Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in 2010. She directed few documentaries (What About Mojca?, There Once Was a Land of Hardworking People) and co-wrote two feature films; Nightlife (directed by Damjan Kozole and co-written by Kozole and Ognjen Sviličić which won Best Director Award in Karlovy Vary IFF 2016) and Half-Sister (Karlovy Vary IFF, 2019). Her debut feature as writer-director MY LAST YEAR AS A LOSER (2018) won multiple awards at the Festival of Slovenian Film, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, and a Special Mention from the film critics' jury. She's voting member of European Film Academy, member of Directors Guild of Slovenia and Screen Actors Guild of Slovenia.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
This is primarily a story about loneliness – the generation of 20-somethings is lonelier than any generation before it, and making friends in adulthood is harder than it is in adolescence. The so-called BFF (best friend forever), often glorified as the most important personal relationship to women in their twenties, is hard to find and hard to keep in the era of individuality and alienation. Events like moving abroad or losing a loved one can be isolating and destabilizing, and it is common to feel like nobody cares whether you exist or not. In many ways, this world can still be cruel to young women, especially the ones without a strong support system in place. The film depicts such feelings of invisibility when you feel like a stranger everywhere, and contrasts them with the strong human longing for connection and deep friendships, like the ones we usually see in films featuring young women.
Katja Lenarčić
KATJA LENARČIĆ (1988, Ljubljana) is a producer at Vertigo and Workshop Manager at CEE Animation Workshop, with prior experience in international sales. Her credits include Fundaments (Sarajevo IFF), The Flood (Clermont-Ferrand, Thessaloniki), and Reconciliation (IDFA, CPH:DOX, Sarajevo). She is an alumna of Thessaloniki Industry Academy, Jihlava Emerging Producers, and EAVE.
Production company profile
VERTIGO LJUBLJANA, established in 1994, is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The company has extensive experience in international co-productions and has (co)-produced over 50 feature films. A selection of recent titles includes: Pero by Damjan Kozole (documentary, 2023; IFF Rotterdam), The Happiest Man in the World by Teona Mitevska (2022; Venice FF – Orizzonti) and Small Body by Laura Samani (2021; Cannes FF Critic’s Week).
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
1.234.900 €
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
50.000 €
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