Mila / Marija

Returning to the front or joining the partisans in the woods—this is the choice the already wounded son of a Carinthian-Slovene family faces during World War II. Most of the decisions in MILA / MARIJA are of this kind. Hanzi decides on the woods. He and his sister Mila join the armed resistance against the Nazis, putting their entire family at risk. “Do you think Tito can sew?” asks Mila ironically after learning that among partisans women are equal to men. But such moments of levity are rare. Mila becomes the commander of a troop, taking the combat name Marija. Whether in the rain, the snow or hidden under the rocks, Marija leads actions against Nazi bases, constantly alert and moving. Every now and then, the camera breaks free from the battle and opens up to the mountain panorama, the sky, the meadows. With Marija/Mila as the central figure of identification, director Andrina Mračnikar tells a story of partisan resistance that eventually connects to the struggle of the Slovenian-speaking minority after 1945. Difficult questions are at the heart of the film: is it right to kill for a greater cause? Can there be a winner in an armed battle? What sort of peace is possible when enemies become neighbours again? (Anna Katharina Laggner)

In the presence of Andrina Mračnikar, Marko Madić and on October 25th of Doroteja Nadrah and Oskar Haag.

Andrina Mračnikar (Auswahl): BO BILO (1996, K), VEČERNICA (1998, K), ANDRI 1924–1944 (2003, K), ROSI ODER DAS FEUER (2004, K), DER KÄRNTNER SPRICHT DEUTSCH (2006), KRANKHEIT DER JUGEND (2007), DIE WAND IST ABGERISSEN (2009, K), MA FOLIE (2015), VERSCHWINDEN / IZGINJANJE (2022)