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Little Trouble Girls film image; two women pressing their hands to their mouths

Little Trouble Girls

Kaj ti je deklica

Vanguard

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Canadian Premiere

A remote Slovenian convent is the backdrop of Urška Djukić’s lush and seductive debut that sees an all-girl school choir decamp for a weekend-long retreat. Surrounded by a group of hormonal teenage girls eager to push her buttons, 16-year-old Lucija finds herself both intrigued and resistant to the pressure to claim her sexual power. While she doesn’t return from the excursion the same doe-eyed maiden, she blossoms on her own terms.

Winner of the prestigious FIPRESCI award at this year’s Berlinale, Little Trouble Girls is an electrifying, regionally distinct addition to cinema’s record of female desire. Djukić’s take doesn’t shy away from the more provocative leanings of the likes of Catherine Breillat, but she thrives in her own stylistic and experiential playpen, offset by the religious and cultural context that adds another layer of moral complexity to the budding wants and needs.

 

FIPRESCI Jury Prize: Perspectives, Berlinale 2025; Best Cinematography, Tribeca 2025; Oscar Submission: Slovenia

 

Supported by

Media Partner

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Director
Cast

Jara Sofija Ostan, Mina Švajger, Saša Tabaković, Nataša Burger, Staša Popović, Mateja Strle

Credits
Country of Origin

Slovenia/Italy/Croatia/Serbia

Year

2025

Language

In Slovenian with English subtitles

Links
18+

At Alliance Française and VIFF Centre

19+

At Fifth Avenue

90 min
Award Winners Drama LGBTQIA2S+ Women Directors
SPOK Films

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Producer

Jozko Rutar, Miha Cernec

Screenwriter

Urška Djukić, Maria Bohr

Cinematography

Lev Predan Kowarski

Editor

Vlado Gojun

Production Design

Vasja Kokelj

Urška Djukić headshot

Urška Djukić

Urška Djukić’s most recent short film, Granny’s Sexual Life (2021), has won over 50 awards, including the European Film Academy Award for best short film in 2022 and the 2023 Cesar Award for best animated short film. Previous short films include The Right One (2019), part of the omnibus film SEE Factory Sarajevo mon amour, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. In 2019, Djukic participated in the 39th Cannes Cinéfondation Residency, where she began work on her first feature, Little Trouble Girls (2025), later awarded as the best work-in-progress project at the Les Arcs Film Festival.

Filmography: Bon Appétit, La Vie! (2016); After the Hunt (2019); The Right One (2019); Granny’s Sexual Life (2021)

 

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