Darko Sinko

Confirmation

Three teenagers are on the verge of confirmation, but when the village community is shocked by a drug find, their friendship is put to the test— and it doesn't pass.

SYNOPSIS

Present. In a remote village in the Slovenian countryside, everybody is preparing for the upcoming Catholic ritual of confirmation. Especially the teenage kids, and among them best friends MATE, PETER, and GABER. Due to the heavy rain, a landslide has swept away the road leading to the church. The villagers are occupied with a desperate attempt to fix the road before the confirmation day. But then the whole village is stunned by a drug find under the famous organ in the church, which is operated by VERONIKA, a really cool girl from the city. It turns out that our three friends are involved in the drug business with her. It is not clear whether the confirmation will happen at all. Mate, Peter, and Gaber are being interrogated by the police, and they decide to stick together no matter what. However, it seems that their friendship has been put to a test which it cannot stand.

DIRECTOR
Darko Sinko

WRITERS
Darko Sinko
Andreea Valean

PRODUCERS
Vlado Bulajić
Lija Pogačnik

CO-PRODUCER
Bernhard Holzhammer

PRODUCTION COMPANY
December

CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY
Eutopiafilm

COUNTRIES
Slovenia
Austria

Darko Sinko

DARKO SINKO (1979) is a film director and screenwriter from Ljubljana, Slovenia. He graduated in Film and Television Directing at The Film Academy (AGRFT) in Ljubljana. He wrote and directed his first feature film INVENTORY (2021) which premiered at The San Sebastian Film Festival and received numerous international awards as well as 6 awards at The Slovenian National Film Festival, including the award for Best Directing and the Art Cinema Award. He has written and directed several documentaries and award-winning short films such as GRANDPA FROST (2007) and SCHOOLMATES (2015).

CONFIRMATION wants to be a visually rich film with numerous vivid characters and intense happenings. It aims to be a communicative film that is entertaining and moving at the same time. The style of the film will be dynamic and fluid. Although gentle, the film is constructed very densely, with several colorful characters and scenes with a touch of humor and grotesque. The camera will be alive, “breathing” with the actors, in lighting and color-wise close to naturalism. In costumes and make-up design, we’ll be in search of colorful, rich, and juicy elements. Non-professional actors, both kids and adults, will be included in the cast. Thematically, the teenagers, the betrayal, and the countryside are the main elements of the film. The confirmation, a widespread custom in the Catholic world, symbolically means entry into adulthood. It offers a complex combination of high-flying metaphysics, pathos, and kitsch. A similar contrast can be found in the relationship between youthful ideals and the tough trials these face during growing up. Betrayals in true friendships bring disillusion and disappointment. On the other hand, the courage and sacrifice, as performed by GABER and PETER, give friendship its meaning and beauty that are hard to evaluate. This is the note on which the film ends. Besides its serious core, the film will be told in a light way. So, on one side, the project is witty and playful. On the more subtle side, it deals with profound questions of relationships and morals.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Vlado Bulajic

VLADO BULAJIĆ was born in December of 1977 in Ljubljana. He studied history and sociology of culture at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. Since 2006, he has been professionally engaged in film production. Working as a producer, assistant director, and production manager on films and TV series, he has cooperated with most major Slovenian production companies, both in film and advertising. He is an EAVE Producers Workshop (2012) graduate. In 2013, he and Lija Pogačnik founded their own production company, December. He is a member of the Association of Slovenian Film Producers and the Directors Guild of Slovenia.

Production company profile

DECEMBER production house was founded in 2013 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, by Vlado Bulajić and Lija Pogačnik. Over the past ten years, they've become a trusted partner in the film industry, both in Slovenia and internationally. They hold the filmmaking process in the highest regard, treating it as a unique and artistic endeavor every time. Their approach is centered on tailoring their methods to suit the individual author, their cinematic style, and the captivating stories they aim to bring to life on the silver screen.

vlado@decemberfilm.si

Where are we at?

TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
1.645.000 €

FINANCES PENDING
645.000 €

FINANCES IN PLACE
1.000.000 €

Production timeline

2024
Final development, financing

BEGINNING OF 2025
Pre-production

SUMMER OF 2025
Principal photography

2025/2026
Post-production

SPRING OF 2026
Delivery

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