Eastern Neighbours Film Festival

4-8 November 2026 — Filmhuis Den Haag

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A beautiful story about a friendship between a boy who has nothing and a girl who has everything. Slovenia’s first Christmas film about the night in which all your wishes come true.

Synopsis

Erik is a 9-year-old boy who lives in a children’s home because of his problematic parents. Beanie is his nickname. His only wish is to go home for Christmas. Instead, he gets to spend the holiday with a wealthy family and their seven-year-old daughter Mina, who wishes for a puppy and a sister. In the middle of the night, Erik and Mina encounter Santa in the family’s living room. Full of hope, the children hide in his car, but the fake Santa dumps them in the middle of the city. An extraordinary adventure begins.

KAPA

Slovenia, Luxembourg, Croatia, Slovakia | 2022 | 86 min

DIRECTOR: Slobodan Maksimovic

PRODUCTION: Ida Weiss – Senca Studio; Wady Films, Studio Dim, Objectif, RTV Slovenija, RTVS Slovakia, HRT

CAST: Gaj Crnic, Kaja Podrebersek, Ajda Smrekar, Mojca Fatur

SCREENPLAY: Sasa Erzen

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sven Pepeonik

EDITING: Jurij Moskon

LANGUAGE: Slovene

SCREENING: Saturday 26 November / 10:45 hours / Zaal 5

Festivals & Awards (selection)

Luxembourg City Film Festival, 2022 | Kinolub International Film Festival for Children and Youth | Zlin Film Festival | Pula Film Festival | Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival | Sarajevo Film Festival – Best Children Film

Director’s statement

The script by Saša Eržen, a prolific and noted author of children’s literature, straightaway appealed to me. Once again, I felt like a curious child asking thousands of questions, looking for a bunch of answers… During their curious adventure, Erik and Lučka grow close, two lonely kids keeping each other company, becoming the family they’ve been missing.

Director’s bio

Slobodan Maksimovic (1975) was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He graduated in film directing from Ljubljana’ AGRFT. His short films won over 30 international awards. His first feature film “Thanks for Sunderland” (2012) was awarded best Slovenian film. His second feature film “Nika” (2016) was awarded best youth film at the Motovun Film Festival and screened worldwide.

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